Tailored versus fixed scan delay in contrast-enhanced abdominal multi-detector CT: An intra-patient comparison of image quality

• Published in: European journal of radiology 2021-10, Vol.143, p.109914-109914, Article 109914
• Main Authors: Camera, Luigi, Dell'Aversano-Orabona, Giuseppina, Gambardella, Michele, Riccitiello, Federica, Galatola, Roberta, Liuzzi, Raffaele, Longobardi, Margaret, Danzi, Roberta, Ponsiglione, Andrea, Stanzione, Arnaldo, Maurea, Simone, Brunetti, Arturo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Contrast-media; CT protocol; CT technique; Image quality; Scan delay
• ISSN: 0720-048X; 1872-7727
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2021.109914

•Single-pass is an effective protocol for contrast-enhanced abdominal multi-detector CT.•It is characterized by a tailored scan delay and an outward scan direction.•It results in a sharper reproduction of most abdominal viscera and vessels than a PVP. To perform anintra-patient comparison betweena single-pass protocol (SP) and a portal venous phase (PVP) by means ofboth quantitative and qualitative analysis of image quality. Forty patients (31 M; 9F; aged 20–77 years; BMI 23 ± 4 Kg/m2) underwent both a SP and a PVP using a 64-rows multi-detector CT with a median interval time of 56 days (range5–903). All patients underwent i.v. bolus injection (2.0 cc/sec) of 1.7 cc/Kg of a non ionic iodinated contrast-media (370 mgI/ml) with scan delays of 67 ± 8 and 90 s for the SP and the PVP, respectively. Signal- (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratios (CNR) were calculated for most visceral organs and for both abdominal aorta (AA) and main portal vein (MPV). For qualitative analysis, reproduction of abdominal viscera and vascular structures was blindly evaluated and inter-observer agreement calculated by the weighted Cohen k-analysis. Attenuation values (H.U.) of AA (232 ± 53vs180 ± 36) and MPV (215 ± 39vs187 ± 42) were significantly (p