Single-dose time-resolved contrast enhanced hybrid MR angiography in diagnosis of peripheral arterial disease: compared with digital subtraction angiography.
OBJECTIVE
To prospectively study the diagnostic performance of hybrid single-dose contrast-enhanced MRA of peripheral arterial disease (PAD), with digital subtraction angiography (DSA) as the reference standard.


METHODS
Hybrid MRA, combining time resolved imaging of contrast kinetics and two-station bolus-chase sequences, of lower limb was performed in 31 PAD patients (21 men, 10 women; mean age, 72 years) with two separate gadobenate dimeglumine (8 mL) injections in each sequence. Two independent blinded readers analyzed the vascular stenosis (32 segments in each limb). Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in all vascular segments and segments below popliteal artery were calculated. Interobserver agreements on MRA and intermodality agreements between MRA and DSA were calculated by using k statistics.


RESULTS
Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the hybrid MRA with regard to hemodynamically significant stenosis in all vascular segments were 92%, 97%, and 95% for reader 1, and 90%, 92%, and 92%, for reader 2, respectively. The interobsever agreements on MRA were good (k = 0.77-0.74) for all-grade stenosis, and excellent (k = 0.82-0.81) for hemadynamically significant stenosis. The intermodality agreements are good to excellent (k = 0.73-0.94).


CONCLUSIONS
Single-dose hybrid MRA is a safe and reliable noninvasive alternative to conventional DSA in the assessment of PAD patients.
Wang
Chun-Chieh
CC
Department of Radiology, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Liang
Huei-Lung
HL
Hsiao
Chia-Chi
CC
Chen
Matt Chiung-Yu
MC
Wu
To-Ho
TH
Wu
Chieh-Jen
CJ
Huang
Jer-Shyung
JS
Lin
Yih-Huei
YH
Pan
Huay-Ben
HB
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction / Q000379:methods*; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis; D006801:Humans; D007700:Kinetics; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015588:Observer Variation; D058729:Peripheral Arterial Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology*; D012015:Reference Standards; D015203:Reproducibility of Results