Evaluation of right adrenal vein cannulation by computed tomography angiography in 140 consecutive patients undergoing adrenal venous sampling.
OBJECTIVE
As it is now known that primary aldosteronism (PA) is more prevalent than was previously recognized, and is a potentially curable cause of hypertension and related cardiovascular diseases, the search for a safe and effective means of its diagnosis has reemerged as a topic of interest. Adrenal venous sampling is the gold standard for diagnosis of PA, but the technique is challenging and the small right adrenal vein can be particularly difficult to cannulate. Our objective was to evaluate the usefulness of computed tomography during angiography (angio-CT) in increasing the success of adrenal venous sampling and to identify factors associated with cannulation failure.


METHODS
Retrospective review.


METHODS
A total of 140 consecutive patients with suspected PA except Cushing's syndrome treated at a single hospital from June 2008 to May 2013 were included. Catheter misplacement and correct cannulation rates before angio-CT and success rate of sampling after angio-CT were calculated. Univariate analysis for factors related to incorrect cannulation included gender, age, height, weight, BMI, and adrenal nodules. Successful sampling was biochemically defined according to cortisol concentrations in the venous blood samples.


RESULTS
Angio-CT detected misplaced catheters in 13 patients (9.3%). The calculated correct cannulation rate of adrenal vein sampling increased from 86.4% before angio-CT to 95.7% after CT (P<0.001, McNemar's test). Univariate analysis showed a tendency for a higher rate of failure of right adrenal venous sampling in taller patients (P=0.052, Mann-Whitney's U test).


CONCLUSIONS
Angio-CT improved success of adrenal venous sampling.
Department of Radiology/Center for Advanced Medical Technology.
Shiro
S
Onozawa
Satoru
S
Murata
Hiroyuki
H
Tajima
Hidenori
H
Yamaguchi
Takahiko
T
Mine
Akira
A
Ishizaki
Hitoshi
H
Sugihara
Shinichi
S
Oikawa
Shin-ichiro
S
Kumita
D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000098:blood supply*; D000368:Aged; D000792:Angiography / Q000379:methods; D001800:Blood Specimen Collection / Q000379:methods; D002406:Catheterization, Peripheral / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006929:Hyperaldosteronism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography / Q000379:methods*; D010690:Phlebography / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies