Muroga K, Minochi Y, Fukuzawa A. Improvement in arterial enhancement using diluted injection of contrast medium in CT angiography.
Acta Radiol 2023;
64:489-495. [PMID:
35179050 DOI:
10.1177/02841851221077400]
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Abstract
BACKGROUND
Arterial enhancement after contrast injection affects the quality of computed tomography angiography (CTA) images.
PURPOSE
To evaluate whether the dilution of contrast medium (CM) for CTA increases arterial enhancement after the adjustment of iodine concentration as per the patient's body weight (BW).
MATERIAL AND METHODS
We retrospectively studied 700 patients who underwent coronary CTA. The first 350 consecutive patients underwent standard CTA with a fixed iodine concentration, whereas the remaining 350 underwent CTA with a diluted CM injection. All patients were classified into three groups according to their BW (<55, 55-65, and 66-73 kg). The mean and proportion of contrast enhancements (CEs) in the ascending aorta of ≥350 Hounsfield units (HUs) (CE350) were compared between the standard CTA and diluted CM injection and among the BW groups. The associations between BW and CE were analyzed using linear regression.
RESULTS
Receiving diluted CM increased the mean CE in the <55-kg group (403.4 ± 55.4 HU vs. 382.8 ± 59.3 HU; P < 0.01) but not in the groups with heavier BW. The proportion of patients with CE350 increased with BW (<55 kg = 71%, 55-65 kg = 84%, and 66-73 kg = 91%) and increased after dilution (86%, 93%, and 96%, respectively). After CM dilution, the correlation between BW and CE among patients undergoing CTA decreased from 0.37 to 0.22 (P < 0.05).
CONCLUSION
CM dilution for CTA improves arterial enhancement.
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