Contrast-enhanced hepatic MRI: Comparison of half-dose and standard-dose gadolinium DTPA administration in lesion characterization with T1-weighted gradient echo sequences

The objective of this article was to compare half-dose (0.05 mm/kg) gadolin ium-enhanced dynamic hepatic MR imaging to standard doses (0.10 mm/kg). Eig hteen patients for follow-up hepatic MR received 0.05 mmkg of gadolinium DT PA dynamically with gradient-echo imaging. Imaging parameters rt ere identi cal to a 0.10-mm/kg study; patients were imaged during multiple phases of c ontrast enhancement . Two readers assessed for enhancement patterns and cha racterization, Quantitative signal-to-noise ratios (S/N) were obtained for abdominal viscera and contrast-to-noise ratios (C/N) were obtained on up to three lesions. No significant difference for the arterial dominant phase ( P > 0.05) was found, Significant differences were found in all categories d uring the portal venous phase (except pancreas) and equilibrium phase (exce pt liver). Lesion C/N ratios were not significant at any point (P > 0.05), Sixty-two out of 64 lesions (97%) were identically characterized. Therefore , half-dose dynamic gadolinium-enhanced MR may have diagnostic value. (C) E lsevier Science Inc., 2000.