Optimal Monochromatic Energy Levels in Dual-Energy Spectral CT Pulmonary Angiography with Low Contrast Medium Dosage

Abstract

Background: The contrast medium (CM) in CT pulmonary angiography may induce adverse effects to patients, and higher CM is associated with higher rates of contrast-induced-nephropathy and mortality. Reduction of CM dosage through improvement of examination techniques may help reduce the occurrence of CM-induced adverse effects and healthcare costs. Objectives: To determine the optimal monochromatic energy levels in dual-energy spectral CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) with low contrast dosage. Patients and Methods: Thirty patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) underwent dual-energy spectral CTPA with low radiation and low contrast doses with scanning protocol of GSI-36 with 260 mA, and 25 mL contrast (350 mgI/mL) with 4.0ml/s injection speed. The monochromatic images from 60 - 80 keV (interval 5 keV) were reconstructed using a 50% adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (50% ASiR) algorithm at 1.25 mm slice thickness. The CT attenuation and standard deviation (SD) values of the main, right, left, right lower and left lower pulmonary arteries and the back muscle at the same level were measured on 60 – 80 keV images, and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated and analyzed. The subjective image quality was evaluated by two experienced radiologists using a 5-level scoring method independently. Measurements were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25.0. (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). Results: CT attenuation values of the pulmonary arteries decreased with the increase of energy level in five-energy groups, with values greater than 300 HU at 60 keV - 70 keV energies. The 65 keV image had the highest SNR, CNR and lowest SD, with significant differences compared with those of other image sets (P < 0.05). The subjective quality scores for the 65 keV image was judged to be the highest by the two radiologists, but it was not significantly different from 60 keV and 70 keV (all P > 0.05). Conclusion: The 65 keV monochromatic images provided the highest SNR, CNR and subjective scores with the lowest image noise in dual-energy spectral CTPA with low contrast dosage.