Renal artery stenosis: evaluation with conventional angiography versus gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the interobserver and intermodality variability of conventional angiography and gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in the assessment of renal artery stenosis.


METHODS
Fifty-four patients underwent conventional angiography and gadolinium-enhanced three-dimensional gradient-echo MR angiography. Three angiographers blinded to each other's interpretations and the MR angiographic findings assessed the conventional angiograms for renal artery stenosis. Similarly, three blinded MR imagers evaluated the MR angiograms.


RESULTS
Interobserver variability for the degree of renal artery stenosis in the 107 kidneys evaluated was not significantly different between the two modalities. The mean SD of the degree of stenosis was 6.9% at MR angiography versus 7.5% at conventional angiography (alpha < or = .05, P > .05). In 70 kidneys (65%), the average degree of stenosis reported by the readers for the two modalities differed by 10% or less. In 22 cases (21%), the degree of stenosis was overestimated with MR angiography by more than 10% relative to the results of conventional angiography. In 15 cases (14%), the degree of stenosis was underestimated with MR angiography by more than 10%.


CONCLUSIONS
Gadolinium-enhanced MR angiography permits evaluation of renal artery stenosis with an interobserver variability comparable with that of conventional angiography.
Gilfeather
M
M
Department of Radiology, University of Utah Health Sciences Center, Salt Lake City 84132, USA.
Yoon
H C
HC
Siegelman
E S
ES
Axel
L
L
Stolpen
A H
AH
Shlansky-Goldberg
R D
RD
Baum
R A
RA
Soulen
M C
MC
Schnall
M D
MD
D000792:Angiography / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D012078:Renal Artery Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D012189:Retrospective Studies
D003287:Contrast Media; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA