Methods used for liver computed tomography scanning in community radiology practice.

Abstract

A survey conducted in 1987 of mostly academic radiologists revealed that 8 of 22 (36%) respondents used bolus enhanced dynamic technique when performing computed tomography (CT) of the liver. In the current study, the authors performed a new survey of private practice radiologists that was over four times larger and had more comprehensive questions. An 18-item questionnaire was sent to 260 members of the American College of Radiology. The answers from 98 usable responses were tallied and analyzed. Forty-six percent of the radiologists polled use bolus enhanced dynamic CT. Thirty-three percent still use ionic contrast, and a significantly lower iodine dose was used when nonionic contrast was chosen. There is general agreement in the imaging literature that dynamic enhanced scanning is the method of choice for detecting liver masses with CT. The authors speculate that cost and convenience considerations strongly influence such decisions, because less than 50% of radiologists we polled use this somewhat more expensive and time-consuming technique.