COMPARISON OF CONTRAST-ENHANCED CT AND MN-DPDP ENHANCED MRI FOR DETECTION OF FOCAL HEPATIC-LESIONS INITIAL FINDINGS

Twenty-nine patients with known or suspected focal hepatic disease wer e evaluated in a retrospective multiinstitutional study comparing T1-w eighted manganese (II) N,N'-dipyridoxylethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetate 5,5'-bis (phosphate) (DPDP) enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with dynamic sequential bolus contrast enhanced computed tomography (D BCT) for the detection of focal liver lesions. The patients were divid ed into four dose groups, receiving 3, 5, 8, or 10 mu mol/kg of Mn-DPD P, delivered either via intravenous bolus (0.25 ml/sec) or infusion (1 ml/sec). Each of three readers, with varying levels of expertise in i nterpreting hepatic MRI and CT studies, identified more lesions on the Mn-DPDP enhanced MRI than the contrast enhanced CT images. Mn-DPDP en hanced MRI depicted the presence of extensive metastatic disease not s een with DBCT in three patients with fatty liver. The most experienced MRI reader saw more lesions per patient on the Mn-DPDP enhanced MRI t han with DBCT, while the opposite held true for the most experienced C T reader. The best single exam for detection of hepatic lesions may be determined by the experience of the reader.