title: Temporal behavior of intraarticular gadolinium.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  As imaging delays during MR arthrography can result in suboptimal studies and potential pitfalls in diagnosis, we sought to evaluate the temporal behavior of intraarticular Gd-DTPA.
  
  
  METHODS
  We prospectively studied four shoulders, four knees, and four hips. Two of each group received either an intraarticular injection of 3 mmol/L Gd-DTPA and iodinated contrast medium or 2 mmol/L Gd-DTPA and 0.9% saline. We measured contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and joint distention on serial T1-weighted sequences. Retrospectively, we measured CNR and imaging delays in 31 MR arthrography patients (20 shoulders, 7 knees, and 4 hips).
  
  
  RESULTS
  In the shoulder, maximal CNR and joint distention occurred at 15 min. CNR decreased 53% by 1 h. In the knee, maximal distention occurred at 1 h, whereas CNR peaked at 2.75 h and then declined 20 and 86% by 3.5 and 6.25 h, respectively. In the hip, peak CNR and distention occurred at 0.5 h. CNR declined 53% by 2 h. Both contrast mixtures yielded similar results.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MR arthrography may tolerate imaging delays of 1 h for the shoulder, 2 h for the hip, and 3.5 h for the knee.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA.
authors.forename: S C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Schweitzer
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Weishaupt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002614:Chelating Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D004369:Pentetic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002614:Chelating Agents; D004369:Pentetic Acid; D005682:Gadolinium