Hoffmann Udo, Loewe Christian, Bernhard Christoph, Weber Michael, Cejna Manfred, Herold Christian J, Schima Wolfgang
Department of Radiology and Ludwig- Boltzmann-Institute for Clinical and Experimental Radiological Research, General Hospital and University of Vienna Austria.
J Magn Reson Imaging. 2002 Apr;15(4):429-37. doi: 10.1002/jmri.10082.
To evaluate the feasibility of blood pool contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) to visualize the arterial and venous vessel tree and to detect deep venous thrombosis (DVT) of the lower extremities.
Nine consecutive patients with pulmonary embolism (mean age = 46 +/- 9) were randomized to various doses of NC100150 (between 0.75 and 6 mg of Fe/kg of body weight). A T1-weighted (T1W) 3D gradient recalled echo (GRE) sequence (TE = 2.0 msec, TR = 5.0 msec) was used. Two observers blinded to the dose of contrast agent assessed image quality, contrast attenuation, and appearance of thrombi.
Qualitative assessment of overall MRA image quality and semiquantitative vessel scoring revealed good to excellent delineation of venous and arterial vessel segments independent of the dose of NC100150. However, quantitative region of interest analysis revealed a significantly higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the high-dose group than in the mid- and low-dose groups of NC100150 (P < 0.01). Between dose groups, the SNR was independent of vessel type (artery or vein) and vessel segment localization (proximal or distal). All seven venous thrombi (mean length = 7.2 +/- 0.95 cm) were characterized by a very low signal intensity (SI), which was only 16.6 +/- 7% of the SI in adjacent venous segments (P < 0.0001).
High-quality MR angiograms of the lower extremities can be obtained using low concentrations of NC100150 in combination with a strong T1W 3D GRE sequence. The obvious delineation of venous thrombi suggests that this technique may be potentially used as a noninvasive "one-stop shopping" tool in the evaluation of thromboembolic disease.
评估血池对比增强磁共振血管造影（MRA）可视化下肢动静脉血管树及检测下肢深静脉血栓形成（DVT）的可行性。
9例连续的肺栓塞患者（平均年龄 = 46 ± 9岁）被随机分配接受不同剂量的NC100150（0.75至6 mg铁/千克体重）。采用T1加权（T1W）三维梯度回波（GRE）序列（TE = 2.0毫秒，TR = 5.0毫秒）。两名对造影剂剂量不知情的观察者评估图像质量、对比剂衰减及血栓表现。
对整体MRA图像质量的定性评估及血管半定量评分显示，无论NC100150剂量如何，静脉和动脉血管段均能得到良好至优秀的显示。然而，感兴趣区定量分析显示，高剂量组的信噪比（SNR）显著高于NC100150的中、低剂量组（P < 0.01）。在不同剂量组之间，SNR与血管类型（动脉或静脉）及血管段定位（近端或远端）无关。所有7个静脉血栓（平均长度 = 7.2 ± 0.95厘米）均表现为极低信号强度（SI），仅为相邻静脉段SI的16.6 ± 7%（P < 0.0001）。
使用低浓度的NC100150联合强T1W三维GRE序列可获得高质量的下肢磁共振血管造影图像。静脉血栓的明显显示表明，该技术可能潜在地用作评估血栓栓塞性疾病的无创“一站式”工具。
