Superparamagnetic iron oxide (Feridex)-enhanced MRI in diagnosis of focal hepatic lesions.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the diagnostic value of superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO)-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for hepatic focal solid lesions.


METHODS
SPIO (Feridex)-enhanced MRI examination was performed in 28 cases of hepatic space-occupying lesions defined by CT or MRI or other methods. In post-contrast enhanced examination, the signal intensity and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were measured in lesions and normal hepatic parenchyma in T2-weighted images (T2WI) and were compared with those in pre-contrast enhanced MRI. The number and morphology of the lesions were visualized for qualitative diagnostic analysis.


RESULTS
In Feridex-enhanced MRI, the signal intensity of normal hepatic parenchyma was decreased while the CNR between lesions and normal liver tissues significantly improved in comparison with that in pre-contrast enhanced examination.


CONCLUSIONS
Feridex-enhanced T2WI examination significantly improves detection of hepatic lesions and is valuable in diagnosing hepatic focal solid lesions.
Wen
Ge
G
Medical Imaging Center, Nanfang Hospital, First Military Medical University, Guangzhou 510515, China.
Zhang
Xue-Lin
XL
Chang
Ren-Min
RM
Xia
Qiong
Q
Cang
Peng
P
Zhang
Ying
Y
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005290:Ferric Compounds; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
D005290:Ferric Compounds; C000499:ferric oxide