Frequency of common bile duct motion artifacts caused by inferior vena cava pulsation on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography.
OBJECTIVE
We assessed the frequency of common bile duct (CBD) motion artifacts caused by inferior vena cava (IVC) pulsation on magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP).


METHODS
We retrospectively evaluated CBD motion artifacts in 4 MRCP sequences from each of 115 consecutive patients.


RESULTS
We observed 37 (32.2%) ghost artifacts at the ventral and dorsal aspects of the CBD on transaxial, half-Fourier acquisition single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE-ax) images; no such artifacts were observed on transaxial T(2)-weighted turbo spin-echo images. In 10 patients, we observed 9 (7.8%) pseudo-defects of the CBD on 3-dimensional T(2)-weighted turbo spin-echo with navigator-triggered prospective acquisition correction technique MRCP and 6 (5.2%) pseudo-defects on single-shot rapid acquisition with relaxation enhancement MRCP. Pseudo-defects were significantly more frequent in patients with ghost artifacts than without (9 of 37 [24.3%] versus one of 78 [1.3%]; P<0.01, McNemar test).


CONCLUSIONS
Although uncommon, pseudo-defects of the CBD caused by IVC pulsation are observed on MRCP. MRCP interpretation that includes comparison with HASTE-ax images can diminish the potential misinterpretation of such CBD motion artifact as bile duct tumor or biliary stone.
Morita
Satoru
S
Department of Radiology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Medical Center East, Tokyo, Japan. i@imodey.com
Ueno
Eiko
E
Saito
Naoko
N
Suzuki
Kazufumi
K
Machida
Haruhiko
H
Fujimura
Mikihiko
M
Maruyama
Kazuhiro
K
Onodera
Yugo
Y
Watanabe
Kunihiro
K
Suzuki
Takashi
T
Ohnishi
Takahiro
T
Imura
Chiaki
C
Mitsuhashi
Norio
N
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016477:Artifacts; D001660:Biliary Tract Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D049448:Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance / Q000379:methods*; D003135:Common Bile Duct / Q000473:pathology*; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005290:Ferric Compounds / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009038:Motion; D015588:Observer Variation; D010182:Pancreatic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D011673:Pulsatile Flow / Q000502:physiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014682:Vena Cava, Inferior / Q000502:physiology*
D003287:Contrast Media; C120852:FerriSeltz; D005290:Ferric Compounds