Magnetic resonance venography in consecutive patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis of the upper extremity: initial experience

Purpose: To assess the feasibility and accuracy of two magnetic resonance (MR) venography methods in a consecutive series of patients with suspected deep vein thrombosis of the upper extremity (DVTUE).

Material and Methods: Consecutive in- and outpatients who were referred for imaging of suspected DVTUE in a large teaching hospital during the period April 2001 to October 2002 were eligible for inclusion. All patients were scheduled to undergo contrast venography with the intention to perform additional MR venography. Both time-of-flight and gadolinium-enhanced 3D MR venography were scheduled. All MR imaging were interpreted independently by consensus of two experienced radiologists, who were blinded for contrast venography outcome. Patients were managed based on contrast venography only.

Results: A total of 44 patients were eligible for inclusion. Thirteen patients were excluded (5 refused consent, 2 inability to gain venous access, 2 renal failure, 4 logistic reasons). Contrast venography was performed in 31 patients, and demonstrated DVTUE in 11 patients. MR imaging was not feasible in 10 patients (4 unable to lie flat, 3 claustrophobia, 1 too large for MR scanner, 1 osteosynthesis of shoulder, 1 pacemaker). The sensitivity and specificity of TOF MRV versus Gadolinium 3D MRV was 71% and 89% versus 50% and 80%, respectively.

Conclusion: A high number of patients were unable to undergo MR venography in this setting. Contrast-enhanced MRV did not improve diagnostic accuracy. The clinical utility of MR venography in the setting of suspected DVTUE seems disappointing.     

动态3D CE-MRV在颅内疾病诊断及治疗中的应用初探

目的：探讨动态3D CE-MRV在颅内静脉系统疾病诊断中的成像优势及其对颅内疾病临床诊断及治疗的指导意义.方法：可疑或确诊为颅内静脉病变者36例应用3T磁共振仪及3D TRICK技术行动态CE-MRV检查,9例无颅内静脉病变者同时行2D TOF序列MRV检查.分析动态3D CE-MRV图像,观察颅内深浅静脉系统主干及其分支的显示情况,比较其相对于2D TOF序列MRV的优势;分析动态3D CE-MRV对颅内疾病如静脉窦及静脉血栓、累及静脉的血管畸形、肿瘤和外伤等的诊断价值及其对临床治疗的指导意义.结果：与2D TOF序列比较,3D CE-MRV对静脉窦属支、上下吻合静脉及海绵窦等显示更清晰（P〈0.05）.动态CE-MRV显示36例受检者大致可分为4种结果：①正常者16例,含静脉发育变异6例;②累及静脉的颅内血管畸形3例;③静脉窦或静脉血栓11例,其中3例为溶栓术后复查显示再通;④肿瘤及外伤6例：脑膜瘤或颈静脉球瘤压迫或侵犯静脉窦者3例;外伤致颅内静脉异常者3例,其中1例为颈内动脉海绵窭瘘.结论：动态3D CEMRV对颅内静脉尤其是细小静脉的观察明显优于2D TOF序列的MRV;多时相显影和多方位重组可对颅内静脉变异、静脉畸形和累及静脉的疾患能清晰显示,为临床诊断、治疗方案的确定及疗效评价提供重要的影像依据.     

Cerebral venography with MR

The authors describe a two-dimensional time-of-flight magnetic resonance (MR) angiography technique to create projection venograms of the head. The technique was applied to 27 healthy volunteers and 39 patients. The superior sagittal and straight sinuses, the internal cerebral veins, and the Galen vein were visualized in all the volunteers. Other veins were seen in a high percentage of subjects. Systematic comparison of digital subtraction angiography (DSA) after intraarterial contrast medium injection and MR venography in patients showed good correlation between the two techniques. MR venography proved helpful in identifying thrombosis or patency of cerebral veins and sinuses and showed collateral venous drainage and venous drainage from arteriovenous malformations. There was good correlation between conventional contrast angiography and MR venography. In conclusion, MR venography is considered reliable for showing the cerebral venous system and provides information additional to that of conventional spin-echo imaging.     

Nuclear medicine diagnosis in venous diseases of the extremities

The 125I fibrinogen test and radionuclide venography have so far been the two standard methods of thrombosis diagnosis via nuclear medicine. Both methods have been developed further as a result of scientific and technical advances in recent years. Direct visualisation of thrombi with the help of 111indium thrombocytes is becoming increasingly important. Direct visualisation of thrombi can be made still easier by antithrombocytic antibodies. In case of contrast medium intolerance, and in diagnosing pulmonary embolism, radionuclide venography can still be useful in combination with lung perfusion scintigraphy, even if nonionic x-ray contrast media are increasingly introduced. The diagnostic possibilities offered by contrast medium venography in respect of precise morphological vascular imaging and function diagnosis, are complementary in many problems of venous diagnostics.     

Acute thromboscintigraphy with (99m)Tc-apcitide: results of the phase 3 multicenter clinical trial comparing 99mTc-apcitide scintigraphy with contrast venography for imaging acute DVT. Multicenter Trial Investigators.

(99m)Tc-apcitide (formerly known as (99m)Tc-P280) is a radiolabeled peptide that binds with high affinity and specificity to the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptors expressed on the activated platelets that are involved in acute thrombosis. The purpose of the phase 3 multicenter clinical trials was to compare (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy with contrast venography for imaging acute deep venous thrombosis (DVT). METHODS: A total of 280 patients were enrolled in 2 clinical trials conducted in North America and Europe. Patients were to be within 10 d of onset of signs and symptoms of acute DVT or within 10 d of surgery associated with a high risk of DVT. (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy and contrast venography were to be performed within 36 h. Planar scintigraphic images were obtained at 10, 60, and 120-180 min after injection. (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigrams and contrast venograms were read with masking and also by the institutional investigators. RESULTS: Of a total of 243 patients who were evaluable, 61.7% were receiving heparin at the time of imaging. Masked reading of (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy, compared with masked reading of contrast venography, had a sensitivity, specificity, and agreement of 73.4%, 67.5%, and 69.1%, respectively, which met the prospectively defined target efficacy endpoint in both trials. Institutional reading of (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy, compared with institutional reading of contrast venography, had a sensitivity, specificity, and agreement of 75.5%, 72.8%, and 74.0%, respectively. However, the entire trial population included patients with a history of DVT who may have had old, nonacute venous thrombi that could confound the venography results. Therefore, data from patients having no history of DVT or pulmonary embolism and who presented within 3 d of onset of signs and symptoms (n = 63), i.e., patients for whom a venogram would be expected to be positive only if acute DVT were present, also were analyzed as a subset. In these patients, institutional reading of (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy, compared with institutional reading of contrast venography, had a sensitivity, specificity, and agreement of 90.6%, 83.9%, and 87.3%, respectively. CONCLUSION: (99m)Tc-apcitide scintigraphy is a new diagnostic modality that is highly sensitive for imaging acute DVT.     

Radionuclide venography in the management of proximal venous occlusion. A comparison with X-ray contrast venography.

Ascending contrast venography often fails to show the proximal venous system when there is co-existing occlusion of femoral or iliac veins. Retrograde and pertrochanteric venography both have severe limitations in terms of invasiveness and reliability. Radionuclide venography (RNV) is suggested as a less invasive alternative. 100 patients were investigated by both RNV and X-ray contrast venography (XRV). There was a 72% overall correlation between two methods of investigation. The proximal definition of XRV was limited in those cases with femoral obstruction. RNV, however gave progressively better views as imaging became more proximal and this was accentuated in the presence of femoral or iliac occlusion. RNV is simple and easy to perform and less invasive than XRV. The definition at calf level is such that it cannot at this stage replace XRV as the standard diagnostic procedure. However, in patients with proximal occlusions it gives more reliable information than that obtainable by ascending contrast venography.     

MR portal venography: preliminary results of fast acquisition without contrast material or breath holding

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The authors performed this study to evaluate the feasibility of using the steady-state free precession (SSFP) sequence to perform magnetic resonance (MR) venography of the portal venous system without the use of contrast material or breath holding. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Eleven patients underwent MR venography with the SSFP technique. Coronal three-dimensional images were obtained with respiratory triggering. Contrast material and respiratory suspension were not used. All patients had recently undergone at least one other imaging study (conventional angiography, transhepatic portal venography, ultrasound, or contrast-enhanced computed tomography), and these findings were correlated with those from MR venography. The structures evaluated were the main portal vein, right portal vein, left portal vein, superior mesenteric vein, and splenic vein. RESULTS: MR venography with SSFP accurately depicted the status of these veins in all cases except one. In this patient, MR venography depicted portal vein thrombus but could not indicate that it was tumor thrombus. CONCLUSION: MR venography with SSFP accurately depicted the portal venous system in 10 of 11 patients without the use of respiratory suspension or contrast material.     

Report on the ECR2003 (European Congress of Radiology): non-contrast intracranial MR venography with 3D-phase contrast imaging: optimization of presaturation pulse and velocity encoding

BACKGROUND: Intracranial MR venography is useful for the diagnosis of dural sinus thrombosis and the preoperative assessment of sinus patency encased by tumors. Recently, contrast-enhanced MR venography has been applied for suspected dural sinus occlusion in a shorter time. However, it has some disadvantage for the evaluation of hypervascularized enhancing thrombus mimicking flow in chronic sinus thrombosis. So far, we have evaluated optimal imaging technique and slice orientation and have shown that sagittal three-dimensional (3D) -phase contrast (PC) imaging is the most suitable for the non-contrast intracranial MR venography. PURPOSE:To assess the optimal presaturation pulse (SAT) and velocity encoding (VENC) for the non-contrast intracranial 3D-PC MR venography. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Firstly, we performed phantom experiment to assess the best SAT thickness using arterial presaturation. Second, MR imaging was performed in 7 healthy volunteers to measure the dural sinus flow velocity using a 1.5 T MR. Third, 3D-PC MR venography was performed with a VENC settings at 10, 15, 20 and 30 cm/sec for healthy volunteers. All data were displayed as maximum intensity projection images and three neuroradiologists assessed the visibility of the dural sinuses and the cortical vein. RESULTS: The mean flow velocity of the dural sinuses was 6.3 cm/sec. The thickness of the best SAT was 100 mm. In the assessment of the visibility of the 3D-PC images, dural sinuses were adequately visualized at a VENC of 15 cm/sec. CONCLUSIONS: Non-contrast intracranial 3D-PC MR venography was optimized at 100mm thickness of SAT and a VENC of 15 cm/sec.     

Comparison of colour Doppler ultrasound with venography in the diagnosis of axillary and subclavian vein thrombosis

The primary imaging technique in suspected venous occlusive disease has for many years been contrast venography. Recent studies have shown ultrasound with the addition of colour Doppler imaging to be a suitable alternative method in the diagnosis of lower limb venous thrombosis. We have applied these techniques to the upper limb venous system, and have performed a prospective study of 19 patients (30 limbs) comparing colour Doppler ultrasound with venography in the diagnosis of axillary and subclavian vein thrombosis, for which colour Doppler ultrasound has a sensitivity and specificity of 100%. If vein stenosis is included, the sensitivity falls to 89%. We propose that colour Doppler ultrasound is a suitable first-line alternative to venography in the diagnosis of axillary and subclavian vein thrombosis. In addition to showing the major venous drainage of the upper limb, ultrasound routinely assesses patency of the internal jugular vein, which is, on occasion, of clinical relevance when determining possible future sites of venous access. If, however, colour Doppler ultrasound is normal then bilateral upper limb venography is indicated to exclude a more central venous problem or localized stenotic lesion.     

Heterotopic bone formation (myositis ossificans) and lower-extremity swelling mimicking deep-venous disease

A quadriplegic patient with a swollen leg was suspected of having deep-venous thrombosis, and was studied with radionuclide venography (RNV) and contrast venography. Focal narrowing of the femoral vein, seen on RNV, was due to extrinsic compression. Although soft-tissue radiographs were normal, Tc-99m diphosphonate imaging established the diagnosis of early heterotopic bone formation (myositis ossificans), which was responsible for the venous compression. Clinically this inflammatory process can mimic deep-venous thrombosis, and should be considered in evaluating patients at risk for both heterotopic bone formation and deep-venous thrombosis.     

Venous thrombosis: a controlled study on the performance of scintigraphy with 99Tcm-HMPAO-labelled platelets versus venography.

Thirty-three patients with symptoms and signs of a deep venous thrombosis (DVT) were examined by contrast venography and radionuclide imaging with 99Tcm-hexamethylpropyleneamineoxime (99Tcm-HMPAO)-labelled autologous platelets. There were 13 patients on heparin therapy and 20 without anticoagulation during the scintigraphy. Scintigraphy consisted of blood pool imaging at 5 to 20 min and accumulation imaging at 2, 4-6 and 18-24 h. In scintigraphy a positive finding was either a defect of radioactivity in the immediate blood pool phase or a hot spot indicative of accumulation of platelets in later phases. Fifteen out of 23 patients positive by venography were also positive by scintigraphy. Five of the eight false negative patients were on heparin treatment, two probably had DVT which were not quite fresh. The venography negative patients were also negative on scintigraphy. Nine out of 12 patients without anticoagulation had positive platelet accumulation compared with two out of 11 patients on heparin therapy. This difference was statistically significant (P less than 0.025). The sensitivity and specificity of platelet scintigraphy were 65 and 100%, respectively, in all patients and 83 and 100% in patients without anticoagulation. Our results suggest that scintigraphy with 99Tcm-HMPAO-labelled platelets is a useful alternative in diagnosing DVT in patients in whom a standard contrast X-ray venograph is contraindicated or otherwise unsuccessful.     

Radionuclide venography in Budd-Chiari syndrome with intrahepatic vena-caval obstruction

Radionuclide imaging of the inferior vena cava (RIVC) was performed by injecting [99mTc] phytate into a dorsal pedal vein, as an initial diagnostic procedure for eight patients with clinical features of Budd-Chiari syndrome. In five of them, membranous occlusion of the inferior vena cava (IVC) was proved by contrast venography and subsequent surgery. The other three patients, with histologically verified hepatocellular carcinoma, were proved to have tumor-induced narrowing or occlusion of the IVC by contrast venography. The RIVC findings include a sharply truncated inferior vena cava with marked hand-up of activity, extensive collaterals, and delayed visualization of the heart. Our results indicate that RIVC is as accurate and specific as contrast venography, by demonstrating the occlusion of the IVC and collateral circulation from the functional aspect. This simple and noninvasive method could therefore be used as a first-line test in patients with unexplained edema, ascites, superficial abdominal venous collaterals, and even in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, for the detection of obstruction in the inferior vena cava.     

Thromboembolic disease: variability of interobserver agreement in the interpretation of CT venography with CT pulmonary angiography

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine interobserver agreement in the diagnosis of acute deep venous thrombosis on CT venography performed in addition to CT pulmonary angiography. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: One hundred forty-six CT venograms of 144 patients (mean age, 61.74 years) clinically suspected of having pulmonary embolism were analyzed prospectively and independently by two experienced thoracic and body imaging radiologists and later by consensus of the two radiologists. The CT venography protocol consisted of 5-mm-thick axial images at 20-mm intervals from the popliteal fossa to the renal veins. Images were acquired 3-4 min after the start of 100-150 mL of undiluted contrast medium administration at 4 mL/sec. Thirteen venous segments were analyzed in each patient. There were 1586 analyzable venous segments. RESULTS: Interobserver agreement, with the patient as the unit of analysis, was moderately good (kappa, 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.39-0.78). Kappa values were similar for CT venography studies performed with 150 mL of contrast medium and 4-min delay (kappa, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.30-0.88) and with 3-min delay and 100 mL of contrast medium (kappa, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.32-0.80). Interobserver disagreement occurred in 17 (12%) of 146 CT venography studies. Findings of 11 CT venography studies were interpreted as negative, and six were interpreted as positive after consensus interpretation. CONCLUSION: Interobserver agreement for deep venous thrombosis with CT venography is moderately good.     

Clinical value of blood pool radionuclide venography

Blood pool radionuclide venography and contrast venography were carried out in 50 patients in whom deep vein thrombosis was suspected. The two procedures were compared on the basis of 198 individual vessel segments. The overall concordance between radionuclide and contrast venography was 92%. Using contrast venography as the standard, the sensitivity of radionuclide venography was 90% and specificity 96%. The predictive accuracy of a positive test was 77% and of a negative test was 97%. The performance of radionuclide venography improved if the calf veins were excluded from analysis. The main limiting factor affecting the performance of radionuclide venography was the moderately poor resolution of the technique. Technical manipulations to improve resolution were time consuming and added little to the accuracy of the test. Radionuclide will not replace contrast venography but may well be used to complement contrast venography when it is technically unsatisfactory or unequivocal, in patients with a history of intolerance to contrast media, and in bedbound patients.     

Multimodality approach to staging renal cell carcinoma

Renal imaging has dramatically improved since the introduction of ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT), and most recently magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. US and MR imaging are ideal for patients with compromised renal function preventing administration of iodinated contrast material or those who have experienced reactions to contrast. Staging errors occur due to limitations in assessing microscopic tumor invasion of the renal capsule and perinephric fat, detecting metastatic deposits in normal sized lymph nodes and differentiating inflammatory hyperplastic lymph nodes from neoplastic ones. These limitations are shared by US, CT, and MR imaging. Vascular invasion by tumor can be evaluated by all imaging modalities including venography. The advantages and limitations of each examination will be presented.     

Using gadolinium-infusion MR venography to show the impalpable testis in pediatric patients

OBJECTIVE; This study evaluated the adjunctive value of gadolinium-infusion MR venography to locate the impalpable testis. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Routine MR imaging and MR venography were performed in 34 patients presenting with impalpable testis. MR venography was performed by dynamic injection of gadopentetate dimeglumine bismethylamide with images taken at delayed venous phases. The site of the testis was determined by detection of the contrast-enhanced pampiniform venous plexus. RESULTS: A total of 44 impalpable testes were examined. Twenty-six hypoplastic canalicular testes, two testes at pelvic skinfold, four atrophic testes in the scrotum, and five intraabdominal testes were detected on both routine MR imaging and MR venography. Five "vanishing" testes in the scrotum and two at the groin region were detected by MR venography but not on MR imaging. CONCLUSION: Gadolinium-infusion MR venography is superior to MR imaging in the detection of atrophic testes. The method is a useful adjunct in patients with negative MR imaging findings.     

Abdominal Magnetic Resonance Venography

With the refinement of fast gradient-echo imaging, it is now possible to perform abdominal magnetic resonance venography completely noninvasively, without the use of oral or injected contrast agents. In this paper, we emphasize two-dimensional, time-of-flight angiographic techniques, as applied to the study of patency and flow in the veins of the abdomen. Magnetic resonance venography is routinely applicable to patients with portal disease, or suspected occlusion of the inferior vena cava, iliac veins or renal veins. Sequential, single-slice venographic images, acquired during breath holding, can be postprocessed to form projected venograms. Hemodyanmic information is derived using presaturation schemes, bolus-tracking or phase imaging. These techniques can also be used to establish the integrity of surgical portosystemic shunts.     

Evaluation of the intracranial dural sinuses with a 3D contrast-enhanced MP-RAGE sequence: prospective comparison with 2D-TOF MR venography and digital subtraction angiography

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The diagnosis of dural sinus thrombosis is often difficult because of its variable and nonspecific clinical presentation and the overlapping signal intensities of thrombosis and venous flow on conventional MR images and MR venograms. We compared 3D contrast-enhanced magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo (MP-RAGE) sequences with 2D time-of-flight (TOF) MR venography, digital subtraction angiography (DSA), and conventional spin-echo (SE) MR imaging for the assessment of normal and abnormal dural sinuses. METHODS: In a phantom study, a plastic tube with pulsating flow was used to simulate the intracranial dural sinus. With 3D MP-RAGE, a variety of flow velocities, contrast material concentrations, and angulations between the phantom flow tube and the plane of acquisition were tested to measure their relationship to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). In a clinical study, 35 patients, including 18 with suspected dural sinus thrombosis, were studied with both MR imaging and DSA. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed in a blinded fashion using DSA as the reference standard. RESULTS: With the phantom, the SNR of flow increased with increasing contrast concentration, but was not affected by the angle between the tube and scan slab. There was no relationship between SNR and velocity when the contrast concentration was 1.0 mmol/L or greater. In the clinical study, dural sinus thrombosis as well as the normal anatomy of the dural sinuses were seen better with 3D contrast-enhanced MP-RAGE than with 2D-TOF MR venography. Three-dimensional contrast-enhanced MP-RAGE showed the highest diagnostic confidence on ROC curves in the diagnosis of thrombosis. CONCLUSION: Three-dimensional contrast-enhanced MP-RAGE is superior to 2D-TOF MR venography and conventional SE MR imaging in the depiction of normal venous structures and the diagnosis of dural sinus thrombosis, and is a potential alternative to DSA.     

Radiologisches Staging des Nierenzellkarzinoms

The routine staging work-up for renal cancer includes a contrast-enhanced multiphasic spiral CT and a chest radiograph. If there is doubt regarding the presence and extent of (supradiaphragmatic) IVC thrombus, MR imaging should be performed. Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging should be used in place of CT in any patient with severe renal dysfunction, symptomatic polycystic kidney disease, or a history of allergy to iodinated contrast media. Cavography is no longer needed in the era of (adaptive array detector) spiral CT and MR venography.     

儿童永存镰状窦的MRI表现

目的探讨儿童永存镰状窦的MRI表现。资料与方法回顾性分析5例镰状窦患儿的MRI资料,均行MR平扫,获得T1WI、T2WI及液体衰减反转恢复序列(FLAIR)图像,4例增强扫描,1例行磁共振静脉成像(MRV)检查。结果 5例中,1例合并Dandy-Walker畸形,1例合并小脑蚓部肿瘤。其余3例未见合并静脉窦血栓或肿瘤压迫等导致静脉窦异常开放因素,直窦存在正常引流功能,考虑永存镰状窦。结论 MR T1WI序列矢状位图像以及增强MRV图像对永存镰状窦诊断具有重要价值。