Legesse Tesfaye Kebede, Getaneh Mekdelawit Mengistu, Issa Semira Abrar
Addis Ababa University, College of Health Sciences, Department of Radiology, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Radiol Res Pract. 2023 Feb 21;2023:9563310. doi: 10.1155/2023/9563310. eCollection 2023.
Intravenous (IV) iodine-based contrast agents are administered during computed tomography (CT) examination to enhance the density differences between lesions and surrounding parenchyma, which is important for lesion characterization, and to demonstrate vascular anatomy and vessel patency. Quality of contrast enhancement has a significant influence on diagnostic interpretation and subsequent management. In this study, we assessed the quality of portal venous phase abdominal CT scans performed with a manual injection of a fixed dose of contrast, which is the routine practice at Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH). The effect of age and sex was also assessed.
A hospital-based retrospective review was performed to identify patients who have had a precontrast and postcontrast abdominal CT scan from November 4, 2020, to September 30, 2022. All patients with abdominal CT scans having precontrast and portal venous phase scans were included in the study. All CT scans were reviewed by the principal investigator and the quality of contrast enhancement was assessed.
In this study, there were a total of 379 patients. The mean hepatic attenuations in precontrast and portal venous phase scans were 59.05 ± 6.69 HU and 103.73 ± 12.84 HU. The proportion of scans with less than 50 HU enhancement was 68% ( = 258). There was a significant association between age and sex with contrast enhancement.
The hepatic contrast enhancement pattern of abdominal CT scan at the study institution reveals a concerning degree of image quality. This is evidenced by the high number of suboptimal contrast enhancement indices and the highly variable enhancement patterns across different patients. This can have a negative impact on the diagnostic performance of CT imaging and can adversely affect the management. Furthermore, both sex and age affect the pattern of enhancement.
在计算机断层扫描（CT）检查期间，静脉注射碘基造影剂可增强病变与周围实质之间的密度差异，这对病变特征的识别很重要，还可显示血管解剖结构和血管通畅情况。对比增强质量对诊断解读和后续治疗管理有重大影响。在本研究中，我们评估了在提库尔·安贝萨专科医院（TASH）常规操作中，通过手动注射固定剂量造影剂进行的门静脉期腹部CT扫描的质量。同时也评估了年龄和性别的影响。
进行了一项基于医院的回顾性研究，以确定在2020年11月4日至2022年9月30日期间接受过腹部CT平扫和增强扫描的患者。所有进行过腹部CT平扫和门静脉期扫描的患者均纳入研究。所有CT扫描均由主要研究者进行审查，并评估对比增强质量。
本研究共有379例患者。平扫和门静脉期扫描时肝脏的平均衰减值分别为59.05±6.69HU和103.73±12.84HU。增强小于50HU的扫描比例为68%（n=258）。年龄和性别与对比增强之间存在显著关联。
研究机构腹部CT扫描的肝脏对比增强模式显示出令人担忧的图像质量程度。这表现为次优对比增强指标数量众多，且不同患者的增强模式差异很大。这可能会对CT成像的诊断性能产生负面影响，并对治疗管理产生不利影响。此外，性别和年龄都会影响增强模式。
