Prediction of aortic peak enhancement in monophasic contrast injection protocols at multidetector CT: phantom and patient studies

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate whether it is possible to predict aortic peak enhancement (APE) from the contrast dose and injection rate. We first undertook an experimental study using a flow phantom that simulates the human circulation. We delivered 90-150 ml of iomeprol-350 at various injection rates and measured the APE values of the simulated aorta. In our clinical study we randomized 20 patients into four groups. In groups A, B, and C the iodine dose per kilogram of body weight (BW) ranged from 450 to 600 mg, and the injection duration was fixed at 30 s; group D received 450 mg/kg over 25 s. We then measured APE in all patients at the whole aorta, averaged the three highest values, and took the result as APE. In the phantom study, the decision coefficient for the best-fit equation obtained by multiple regression analysis of the relation between the iodine dose and injection rate and the simulated APE was high (0.93). In the patient study, the predicted APE values almost corresponded with the averaged APE values when we applied the fitness equation. Using our fitness equation, APE on contrast-enhanced computed tomography can be predicted from the iodine dose and the contrast injection rate per patient weight.