M. Sadick et al., Evaluation of breath-hold contrast-enhanced 3D magnetic resonance angiography technique for imaging visceral abdominal arteries and veins, INV RADIOL, 35(2), 2000, pp. 111-117
Citations number
25
Categorie Soggetti
Radiology ,Nuclear Medicine & Imaging","Medical Research Diagnosis & Treatment
RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES. TO evaluate the diagnostic value of breath-hold c
ontrast-enhanced 3D magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) for assessment of
the visceral abdominal arteries and veins in patients with suspected abdomi
nal neoplasms.
METHODS. Twenty-one patients underwent MR imaging on a 1.5 T unit using a b
ody phased-array coil, MRA was performed with a 3D-FLASH sequence (TR 3.8 m
s, TE 1.3 ms, flip angle 25 degrees, acquisition time 20 seconds), 8 to 12
seconds after an intravenous bolus injection of Gd-DTPA. The acquisition de
lay between the arterial and the portal venous phase was 12 seconds. The im
age quality and the degree of vascular involvement were evaluated using cor
onal source images and maximum intensity projection reconstructions. Diagno
sis was confirmed by surgery/histology.
RESULTS. Image quality was optimal in more than 85% of the patients (19/21
arterial phase and 17/21 portal venous phase). MRA correctly predicted vasc
ular status in 20 of 21 patients (95%), with complete concordance between M
RA results and surgical findings. In one patient with chronic pancreatitis,
MRA demonstrated a false-positive finding that could not be confirmed surg
ically.
CONCLUSIONS. Breath-hold contrast-enhanced 3D-MRA is a valuable technique f
or assessing visceral abdominal arteries and veins.