Pancreatic CT imaging: effects of different injection rates and doses of contrast material.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effects of the intravenous injection rate and dose of contrast material on pancreatic computed tomography (CT).


METHODS
A total of 126 patients were divided at random into four groups with different injection rates and doses. Groups 1 and 2 underwent injection of 2 mL per kilogram of body weight of 300 mg of iodine per milliliter of contrast material, and groups 3 and 4 underwent injection of 1.5 mL/kg. The injection rate was 5 mL/sec for groups 1 and 3 and 3 mL/sec for groups 2 and 4. Single-level serial CT scanning was performed at the level of the pancreatic head, and the pancreatic enhancement value was calculated.


RESULTS
The maximum pancreatic enhancement value was 99 HU +/- 18 (mean +/- SD) for group 1, 90 HU +/- 18 for group 2, 86 HU +/- 15 for group 3, and 74 HU +/- 13 for group 4. There were significant differences in the maximum pancreatic enhancement value between groups 1 and 2 (P = .045), between groups 3 and 4 (P = .001), between groups 1 and 3 (P = .016), and between groups 2 and 4 (P = .001).


CONCLUSIONS
Both a higher dose and a faster injection rate increased the maximum pancreatic enhancement value.
Kim
T
T
Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, Japan. kim@radiol.med.osakau.ac.jp
Murakami
T
T
Takahashi
S
S
Okada
A
A
Hori
M
M
Narumi
Y
Y
Nakamura
H
H
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001012:Aorta, Abdominal / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008113:Liver Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000556:secondary; D008642:Mesenteric Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*
D003287:Contrast Media