American Journal of Roentgenology, Vol 160, 1213-1215, Copyright © 1993 by American Roentgen Ray Society
CT arterial portography of the abdomen: effect of injecting papaverine into the mesenteric artery on hepatic contrast enhancement
P Soyer, D Lacheheb and M Levesque
Department of Radiology, Hopital Louis Mourier, Colombes, France.
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of
precontrast injection of papaverine hydrochloride into the superior
mesenteric artery on the degree of contrast enhancement of the hepatic
parenchyma during CT arterial portography (CTAP, CT with injection of
contrast material into the superior mesenteric artery). SUBJECTS AND
METHODS. Twenty-two patients were included in this study. All patients had
a baseline unenhanced CT scan and then had CTAP performed with
transcatheter injection of 150 ml of nonionic iodinated contrast material
(30 g iodine/100 ml) at a rate of 2 ml/sec. Eleven patients received a
precontrast injection of 40 mg of papaverine hydrochloride via catheter
into the superior mesenteric artery, and 11 patients had CTAP without
papaverine hydrochloride. Attenuation of the liver was measured before and
after contrast administration in both groups of patients. For each CTAP
section, the absolute hepatic enhancement (postcontrast
attenuation--precontrast attenuation) and the relative hepatic enhancement
([absolute hepatic enhancement/precontrast attenuation] x 100) were
calculated. Also, the mean absolute enhancement and the mean relative
enhancement for the entire liver were calculated for each patient. RESULTS.
The mean relative enhancement (+/- SD) of hepatic parenchyma was 192 +/-
54% with papaverine hydrochloride and 146 +/- 26% without papaverine
hydrochloride. Relative enhancement was significantly higher when
papaverine hydrochloride was used (p < .02). The mean absolute
enhancement (+/- SD) of hepatic parenchyma was 123 +/- 25 H with papaverine
hydrochloride and 91 +/- 19 H without papaverine hydrochloride. Absolute
enhancement was significantly higher in patients who had papaverine
hydrochloride (p < .01). CONCLUSION. The results show that precontrast
transcatheter infusion of papaverine hydrochloride increases the degree of
contrast enhancement of the liver during CTAP.