Trends in contrast media research the last 100 years

Evaluation of Iodinated Contrast Media Use in Abdominal CT Scans in Cancer Assessments: A Cross-Sectional Study in Lomé (Togo)

Background

There is great variability between centers regarding contrast injection protocols. They should only be injected if they can provide useful information for diagnosis with the necessary and sufficient quantity of iodine. We wanted to know through this study if the use of iodinated contrast media is optimised in abdominal CT scans performed for cancer assessment in Lomé.

Materials and Methods

It was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study with a prospective collection over a period of 6 months in three CT units in Lomé. It involved abdominal CT scans performed for oncological evaluation. Data were reported as the mean ± standard deviation. The Pearson correlation coefficient, ANOVA, chi-square, and the Fisher test were used.

Results

A total of 218 examinations were recorded. The female sex represented 56.88% of the patients. The mean age was 50.92 ± 15.78 years. The mean weight was 70.46 ± 15.23 kg. The mean BMI was 24.91 ± 5.32 kg/m². The examinations were performed with a voltage of 120 kV in 195 cases (89.45%). The mean dose of injected iodine was 0.42 ± 0.09 gI/kg with a dose of 0.40 gI/kg at 80 kV and 0.45 gI/kg at 130 kV. The mean injection rate was 2.90 ± 0.34 mL/s. The mean injected volume was 83.19 ± 7.29 mL. The mean duration of the injection was 30.60 ± 7.39 s. The mean iodine delivery rate was 0.98 ± 0.17 gI/s. There was no saline injection in 152 cases (69.72%). Liver contrast enhancement was satisfactory in 94.5% of cases. There was a strong negative linear correlation between the dose of injected iodine and weight.

Conclusions

Optimization guidelines for the use of iodinated contrast media are not always applied. Therefore, monitoring and benchmarking programmes for iodinated contrast injection protocols that involve all radiology personnel should be implemented.

Change and consistency in Acta Radiologica over 100 years

Acta Radiologica celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2021. In this article, the foundation of the journal and its editors are described. During 100 years, the manuscript structure changed from single-author verbose monographs to multi-author collaborations on statistically analyzed research subjects. The authorship changed from purely Nordic authors to a truly international cadre of authors, and the size of the journal increased considerably, in issues per year, printed pages, and published articles per year. The Foundation of Acta Radiologica has been able to give out two prizes, the Xenia Forsselliana and the Acta Radiologica International Scientific Prize for the best manuscripts each year. The increasing submissions of manuscripts is an indication that Acta Radiologica will continue to publish important scientific results for many years to come.