High-Pitch Dual-Source Computed Tomography Renal Angiography Comparison With Conventional Low-Pitch Computed Tomography Angiography: Image Quality, Contrast Medium Volume, and Radiation Dose.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to compare the image quality (IQ), contrast medium (CM) volume, and radiation dose of the high-pitch renal computed tomography angiography (CTA) with low-pitch protocol. Fifty patients underwent renal CTA on a dual-source 128-slice scanner via a high-pitch mode (pitch = 2.05) with 0.5-mL/kg CM injection, whereas 50 patients were also scanned on the same scanner with low-pitch (pitch = 0.6) and 1.0 mL/kg CM injection. Subjective IQ was evaluated. Objective IQ was determined by the signal-to-noise ratio and contrast-to-noise ratio. Effective radiation dose was also evaluated. The contrast-to-noise ratio and signal-to-noise ratio values as well as the IQ scores between the 2 groups had no significant differences (P > 0.05). The effective radiation dose of the high-pitch group was significantly lower (P < 0.05). High-pitch scan can provide similar subjective and objective IQ compared with low-pitch protocol for renal CTA, whereas CM volume and radiation exposure were significantly reduced.