title: Use of saline chaser in the intravenous administration of contrast material in non-invasive coronary angiography with 16-row multislice Computed Tomography.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the impact of saline bolus chaser in coronary angiography with a 16-row multislice CT (16-MSCT) scanner.
  
  
  METHODS
  32 patients were divided in two groups for contrast material (cm) administration: group 1 (140 ml at 4 ml/s), and group 2 (100 ml at 4 ml/s followed by 40 ml of saline chaser at 4 ml/s). All patients underwent ECG-gated coronary angiography with a 16-MSCT scanner. The attenuation at the origin coronary vessels was assessed. Three regions of interest were drawn throughout the data-set: ascending aorta (ROI1); descending aorta (ROI2); pulmonary artery (ROI3). The attenuation in the superior vena cava was recorded (ROI4). The average attenuation and the slope were calculated in each ROI.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average attenuation in the coronary vessels was not significantly different in the two groups. The attenuation value in the superior vena cava was significantly inferior in group 2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  16-row MSCT coronary angiography with bolus chaser allows optimal vessel enhancement with a lower dose of cm and a lower enhancement of the superior vena cava and the right heart.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Radiologia, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. filippocademartiri@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cademartiri
authors.forename: Giacomo
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luccichenti
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Marano
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Runza
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Midiri
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017023:Coronary Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007262:Infusions, Intravenous; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D012965:Sodium Chloride