Low-dose CT of the thorax in cancer follow-up.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the quality of low-dose computed tomography (CT) images in the follow-up of cancer patients.


METHODS
We selected patients with urogenital (n = 7) or esophageal cancer (n = 13) who were attending routine follow-up between April and July 2001. After water and chest phantom studies to decide the scan parameters, postcontrast low-dose CT scans were obtained at 60 mA (45 mA s) with a smoothing kernel. Three radiologists reviewed the CT scans of the thorax independently for overall image quality and anatomic detail in both mediastinal and lung windows. They subjectively rated the images on a four-point scale (0: poor, 1: fair, 2: good, 3: excellent) according to graininess and sharpness.


RESULTS
The average score of the low-dose CT for the lung window was 2.85, which was equivalent to control images. The average score for the mediastinal window was 1.77, which was lower than that of the control CT scan (2.62, P < 0.001) and almost identical to that of the chest phantom experiment. Nine of the 20 cases had abnormal findings; low-dose CT scans depicted them well and offered sufficient information for diagnosis. The radiation exposure was reduced by about half.


CONCLUSIONS
The image quality of low-dose thoracic CT was satisfactory for both mediastinal and lung windows in the follow-up of cancer patients.
Yamada
Takayuki
T
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Tohoku University, 1-1 Seiryo-machi Aoba-ku, Sendai 9808574, Japan. yamataka@rad.med.tohoku.ac.jp
Ono
Shuichi
S
Tsuboi
Masahiro
M
Saito
Haruo
H
Sato
Akihiro
A
Matsuhashi
Toshio
T
Ishibashi
Tadashi
T
Takahashi
Shoki
S
D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media; D004938:Esophageal Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008482:Mediastinum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000379:methods*; D036542:Tomography, Spiral Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014565:Urogenital Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*
D003287:Contrast Media