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) CME 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 Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Nguyen, D. Articles by Poletti, P.-A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Nguyen, D. Articles by Poletti, P.-A. Social Bookmarking                      What's this? Hotlight (NEW!) What's Hotlight?

Evaluation of a Single-Pass Continuous Whole-Body 16-MDCT Protocol for Patients with Polytrauma

¹ Department of Radiology, Geneva University Hospital, 24 rue Micheli-du-Crest, Geneva 1211, Switzerland.
² Department of Radiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare a conventional multiregional MDCT protocol with two continuous single-pass whole-body MDCT protocols in imaging of patients with polytrauma.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Ninety patients with polytrauma underwent whole-body 16-MDCT with a conventional (n = 30) or one of two single-pass (n = 60) protocols. The conventional protocol included unenhanced scans of the head and cervical spine and contrast-enhanced helical scans (140 mL, 4 mL/s, 300 mg I/mL) of the thorax and abdomen. The single-pass protocols consisted of unenhanced scans of the head followed by one-sweep acquisition from the circle of Willis through the pubic symphysis with a biphasic (150 mL, 6 and 4 mL/s, 300 mg I/mL) or monophasic (110 mL, 4 mL/s, 400 mg I/mL) injection. Acquisition times and interval delays between head, chest, and abdominal scans were recorded. Contrast enhancement was measured in the aortic arch, liver, spleen, and kidney. Diagnostic image quality in the same areas was assessed on a 4-point scale.

RESULTS. Median acquisition times for the single-pass protocols were significantly shorter (-42.5%) than the acquisition time for the conventional protocol. No significant differences were found in mean enhancement values in the aorta, liver, spleen, and kidney for the three protocols. The image quality with both single-pass protocols was better than that with the conventional protocol in assessment of the mediastinum and cervical spine (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the single-pass protocols.

CONCLUSION. Use of single-pass continuous whole-body MDCT protocols can significantly decrease examination time for patients with polytrauma and improve image quality compared with a conventional serial scan protocol. Monophasic injection with highly concentrated contrast medium can reduce injection flow rate and should therefore be preferred to a biphasic injection technique.

Keywords: emergency radiology • MDCT • polytrauma

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

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. M. Hall Single-Pass Continuous Whole-Body CT for Polytrauma Am. J. Roentgenol., August 1, 2009; 193(2): 594 - 594. [Full Text] [PDF]

				P.-A. Poletti and S. E. Mirvis Reply Am. J. Roentgenol., August 1, 2009; 193(2): 594 - 594. [Full Text] [PDF]