Abdominal MR imaging: comparison of T2-weighted fast and conventional spin-echo, and contrast-enhanced fast multiplanar spoiled gradient-recalled imaging.

T2-weighted fast and conventional spin-echo (SE) and dynamic gadolinium-enhanced fast multiplanar spoiled gradient-recalled (FMPSPGR) images in 26 patients (18 with hepatic masses and eight with no detected abnormality) were compared to determine the efficacy of the newer pulse sequences (fast SE and FMPSPGR) in abdominal imaging. FMPSPGR allows for breath-hold magnetic resonance imaging of the liver. The contrast-to-noise ratio (C/N) of the hepatic lesions was calculated for each sequence and was superior in fast SE compared with that in conventional SE in 16 of 18 patients. Lesion detection was 90% with fast SE and was 85% and 80% for conventional SE and contrast material-enhanced FMPSPGR sequences, respectively. Of the T2-weighted sequences, fast SE showed consistently sharper anatomic structures and less respiratory and cardiac motion artifact. Thus, fast SE (with its superior C/N and shorter imaging time) and gadolinium-enhanced FMPSPGR images, when combined, demonstrate potential value as routine sequences in abdominal imaging.