HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Google Scholar Articles by Roggenland, D. Articles by Heyer, C. M. PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Roggenland, D. Articles by Heyer, C. M. Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

CT Angiography in Suspected Pulmonary Embolism: Impact of Patient Characteristics and Different Venous Lines on Vessel Enhancement and Image Quality

¹ Departments of Interventional Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, BG Clinics "Bergmannsheil," Ruhr-University of Bochum, Buerkle-de-la-Camp Platz 1, D-44789 Bochum, Germany,
² Department of Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Bochum, Germany.

OBJECTIVE. The objective of our study was to compare image quality, patient characteristics, and different catheters in pulmonary CT angiography (CTA) performed with bolus tracking and z-axis automated tube current modulation (ATCM) in patients with suspected pulmonary embolism.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS. One hundred twenty-six patients were referred to undergo pulmonary CTA with bolus tracking and ATCM. Besides patient characteristics, the type, position, size, and side of venous catheters were documented. Pulmonary vessel enhancement and image noise were quantified; signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated. Subjective vessel contrast was assessed by two radiologists in consensus.

RESULTS. Patient age showed a moderate but significant positive correlation to vessel enhancement (r = 0.244, p = 0.006), CNR (r = 0.178, p = 0.046), and subjective image quality (r = 0.344, p < 0.001). Patient weight revealed a significant negative correlation to vessel enhancement (r = -0.496, p < 0.001), SNR (r = -0.446, p < 0.001), CNR (r = -0.425, p < 0.001), and subjective image quality (r = -0.422, p < 0.001). In univariate analysis, SNR and CNR were significantly higher in patients who received contrast medium through peripheral catheters (30 ± 13 and 27 ± 13, respectively) than in those in whom central catheters were used (22 ± 8 and 19 ± 7, p = 0.041 and p = 0.029, respectively). Neither patient sex nor catheter size, position, or side had any significant impact on image quality.

CONCLUSION. Patient age and weight showed significant impact on vascular attenuation and image quality in pulmonary CTA with bolus tracking and ATCM, whereas patient sex and different peripheral catheters did not significantly influence image parameters.

Keywords: automated tube current modulation • bolus tracking • CT angiography • MDCT • pulmonary embolism

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?