Effects of right- versus left-arm injections of contrast material on computed tomography of the head and neck.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the effects of the right- and left-arm injections of contrast material on image quality in computed tomography of the head and neck.


METHODS
Sixty patients were prospectively and randomly assigned into 2 groups. Eighty milliliters of contrast material (iodine concentration, 300 mg/mL) was administered into the right (n = 30) or the left (n = 30) antecubital vein at a 2-mL/s injection rate. The attenuation of the carotid artery (CA) and the internal jugular vein (IJV) was measured at 1.5-second intervals in each patient. The mean attenuation values for CA and IJV, the time to reach peak attenuation, the duration of diagnostic window (both CA and IJV enhancement were greater than 150 HU), the perivenous artifacts, and the retrograde flow of contrast material column from the subclavian or brachiocephalic vein were statistically compared between patients with right-arm injection and those with left-arm injection.


RESULTS
The mean attenuation values in CA and IJV were slightly higher in patients with right-arm injection than in those with left-arm injection, although no significant difference was reached (P = 0.06 for CA and 0.07 for IJV). The right-arm injection resulted in significantly reduced perivenous artifacts and retrograde flow of contrast material column. There were no significant differences in the time to reach the peak attenuation and in the duration of the diagnostic window between the 2 groups.


CONCLUSIONS
The right-arm injection of contrast material may provide better image quality in the computed tomography of the head and neck when compared with the left-arm injection.
You
Su Yeon
SY
Department of Radiology, Kangdong Seong-Sim Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Yoon
Dae Young
DY
Choi
Chul Soon
CS
Chang
Suk Ki
SK
Yun
Eun Joo
EJ
Seo
Young Lan
YL
Lee
Yu-Jin
YJ
Moon
Jeung Hee
JH
D001132:Arm / Q000098:blood supply*; D016477:Artifacts; D016121:Brachiocephalic Veins; D002339:Carotid Arteries; D002533:Cerebral Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous / Q000379:methods; D007472:Iohexol / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000493:pharmacokinetics; D009333:Neck / Q000098:blood supply*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013350:Subclavian Vein; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
D003287:Contrast Media; D007472:Iohexol