Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging of abdominal solid organ and major vessel: comparison of enhancement effect between Gd-EOB-DTPA and Gd-DTPA.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the differences in enhancement of the abdominal solid organ and the major vessel on dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) obtained with gadolinium ethoxybenzyldiethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA: EOB) and gadolinium diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-DTPA) in the same patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 13 healthy volunteers underwent repeat assessments of abdominal MR examinations with DCE-MRI using either Gd-DTPA at a dose of 0.1 mmol/kg body weight or EOB at a dose of 0.025 mmol/kg body weight. DCE images were obtained at precontrast injection and in the arterial phase (AP: 25 seconds), portal phase (PP: 70 seconds), and equilibrium phase (EP: 3 minutes). The signal intensities (SIs) of liver at AP, PP, and EP; the SIs of spleen, renal cortex, renal medulla, pancreas, adrenal gland, aorta at AP; and the SIs of portal vein and inferior vena cava (IVC) at PP were defined using region-of-interest measurements, and were used for calculation of signal intensity ratio (SIR).

RESULTS: The mean SIRs of liver (0.195+/-0.140), spleen (1.35+/-0.353), renal cortex (1.58+/-0.517), renal medulla (0.548+/-0.259), pancreas (0.540+/-0.183), adrenal gland (1.04+/-0.405), and aorta (2.44+/-0.648) at AP as well as the mean SIRs of portal vein (1.85+/-0.477) and IVC (1.16+/-0.187) at PP in the EOB images were significantly lower than those (0.337+/-0.200, 1.99+/-0.443, 2.01+/-0.474, 0.742+/-0.336, 0.771+/-0.227, 1.26+/-0.442, 3.22+/-1.20, 2.73+/-0.429, and 1.68+/-0.366, respectively) in the Gd-DTPA images (P<0.05 each). There was no significant difference in mean SIR of liver at PP between EOB (0.529+/-0.124) and Gd-DTPA (0.564+/-0.139). Conversely, the mean SIR of liver at EP was significantly higher with EOB (0.576+/-0.167) than with Gd-DTPA (0.396+/-0.093) (P<0.001).

CONCLUSION: Lower arterial vascular and parenchymal enhancement with Gd-EOB, as compared with Gd-DTPA, may require reassessment of its dose, despite the higher late venous phase liver parenchymal enhancement.