Purpose: To prospectively compare two different approaches for estimating the amount of intravenous contrast media (CM) needed for multiphasic MDCT of the liver in obese patients.
Materials and methods: This single-center, HIPAA-compliant prospective study was approved by our Institutional Review Board. Ninety-six patients (55 men, 41 women), with a total of 42 hypovascular liver lesions, underwent MDCT of the liver. The amount of contrast medium injected was computed according to the patient's lean body weight which was estimated using either a bioimpedance device (Group A) or the James formula (Group B). The following variables were compared between the two groups: the amount of contrast medium injected (in grams of Iodine, gI), the contrast enhancement index (CEI) and the lesion-to-liver contrast-to-noise ratio.
Results: Protocols A and B yielded significant differences in the amount of CM injected (mean values 41.9 ± 4.41 gI in Group A vs. 35.9 ± 5.75 gI in Group B; P = 0.021). The mean CEI value and lesion-to-liver contrast-to-noise ratio measured on the portal phase were significantly higher with protocol A than with protocol B (P < 0.05).
Conclusions: Our study shows that the adoption of a bioimpedance device in obese patients improves liver parenchymal enhancement and lesion conspicuity.
Keywords: Contrast dose, hypovascular liver lesion; Lean body weight; Multi-detector CT.