Usefulness of a saline flush for intravenous 3-dimensional computed tomography portography using multidetector-row helical computed tomography.

PURPOSE

To evaluate the clinical usefulness of a saline flush technique in improving the imaging quality of 3-dimensional computed tomography portography (3D-CTP).

METHODS

To evaluate liver metastases, 58 patients were divided into 2 groups undergoing 3D-CTP with or without a saline flush. The computed tomography (CT) values of the right portal vein (RPV), left portal vein (LPV), main portal vein (MPV), and right hepatic parenchyma (RHP) were assessed. Maximum intensity projection (MIP) 3D-CTP images were evaluated by vessel visualization.

RESULTS

Higher mean CT attenuation values in the RPV, LPV, MPV, and RPV-RHP were observed in the saline flush group and were statistically significant (P = 0.04, P = 0.03, P = 0.01, and P = 0.04, respectively). The difference in imaging quality between 2 groups was statistically significant (P = 0.04). In segment VIII, the ability to depict the segmental branches was significantly higher when the saline flush technique was used (P = 0.03).

CONCLUSIONS

The saline flush technique increases the CT attenuation values of the portal vein and the difference in values between the portal vein and the tissue around it and improves the MIP imaging quality of 3D-CTP.