Abdominal vasculature in dynamic contrast-enhanced liver MRI at 3.0T: an intraindividual comparative study using gadoxetate disodium and gadofosveset trisodium.
OBJECTIVE
To intraindividually compare gadoxetate disodium and gadofosveset trisodium regarding vessel contrast, image quality and vessel delineation in dynamic contrast-enhanced liver MRI at 3.0T.


METHODS
Twelve patients underwent 3.0T MRI twice (24 examinations) with a single dose of gadoxetate disodium and gadofosveset trisodium, respectively. Signal intensity in abdominal vessels and tissue was determined. Vessel-to-background ratio (VBR) was calculated for each vessel and dynamic phase. All images were evaluated by two radiologists regarding image quality, vessel delineation and anatomic variants or pathologies with digital subtraction angiography as the standard of reference.


RESULTS
Gadofosveset trisodium demonstrated a significantly higher VBR compared to gadoxetate disodium (arterial phase: 0.57±0.12 [SD] vs. 0.46±0.19; portal venous phase: 0.51±0.11 vs. 0.37±0.14; equilibrium phase: 0.48±0.10 vs. 0.31±0.13; p≤0.01). Image quality and vessel delineation were rated equal or better for gadofosveset trisodium in all cases. These differences were not significant for most vessel segments. All anatomic variants were correctly identified by both readers for both contrast agents.


CONCLUSIONS
Although gadofosveset trisodium provides a significantly higher vessel contrast at 3.0T, gadoxetate disodium is equivalent by qualitative measurements. Thus, gadoxetate-enhanced liver MRI at 3.0T enables reliable assessment of the upper abdominal vasculature with the additional benefit of hepatobiliary imaging.
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: patrick.kupczyk@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Patrick A
PA
Kupczyk
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: winfried.willinek@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Winfried A
WA
Willinek
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: dariusch.hadizadeh@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Dariusch R
DR
Hadizadeh
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: frank.traeber@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Frank
F
Traeber
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: juergen.gieseke@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Juergen
J
Gieseke
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: carsten.meyer@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Carsten
C
Meyer
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: hans.schild@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Hans H
HH
Schild
Department of Radiology - University of Bonn, Sigmund-Freud-Straße 25, 53127, Bonn, Germany. Electronic address: guido.kukuk@ukb.uni-bonn.de.
Guido M
GM
Kukuk
D000368:Aged; D015901:Angiography, Digital Subtraction; D003287:Contrast Media; D005260:Female; D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D008099:Liver / Q000098:blood supply*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D003287:Contrast Media; D009942:Organometallic Compounds; C073590:gadolinium ethoxybenzyl DTPA; D005682:Gadolinium; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; C109932:gadofosveset trisodium
3T; Gadofosveset trisodium; Gadoxetate disodium; Intraindividual; Vessel contrast