title: Can an enhanced thin-slice computed tomography delineate the right adrenal vein and improve the success rate?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the usefulness of enhanced thin-slice computed tomography (TSCT) for delineating the right adrenal vein (RAV) anatomy before adrenal vein sampling (AVS).
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 151 consecutive AVSs with CT during angiography (interventional CT) were included. Of them, TSCT was performed before AVS for 72 patients. Successful RAV cannulation was confirmed using cortisol measurement. The RAV on TSCT was classified as certain, probable, or unidentified, and cases with certain or probable RAV identification were classified as useful. In the cases where AVS was successful, the anatomical features of the presumed RAV from the useful TSCT, including the position along the inferior vena cava, vertebral level, and distance from the upper pole of the right kidney, were compared with the RAV features identified on interventional CT. Estimated successful cannulation rates before interventional CT were compared between patients with and without useful TSCT.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 66 TSCTs were classified as useful. The anatomical features identified on TSCT were significantly correlated with those on interventional CT. The estimated successful cannulation rates for cases with and without useful TSCT were 92.4 and 82.4 %, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TSCT clearly shows the anatomical features of the RAV, facilitating accurate sampling and increasing the success rate.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology/Centre for Advanced Medical Technology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan. onozawa@nms.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Shiro
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3176-8365
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Onozawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology/Centre for Advanced Medical Technology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murata
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology/Centre for Advanced Medical Technology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Hidenori
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Tokai University Hachioji Hospital, Tokai University School of Medicine, Isehara, Japan.
authors.forename: Takahiko
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mine
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology/Centre for Advanced Medical Technology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Daisuke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yasui
authors.affiliation: Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sugihara
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology/Centre for Advanced Medical Technology, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8603, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tajima
mesh_terms: D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002404:Catheterization / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006929:Hyperaldosteronism / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015641:Radiography, Interventional / Q000379:methods; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*; D014680:Veins / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Adrenal venous sampling; Anatomical variations; Interventional CT; Primary aldosteronism; Thin-slice enhanced computed tomography