CAIPIRINHA-Dixon-TWIST (CDT)-volume-interpolated breath-hold examination (VIBE) for dynamic liver imaging: Comparison of gadoterate meglumine,gadobutrol and gadoxetic acid

Purpose

CAIPIRINHA-Dixon-TWIST (CDT)-VIBE is a robust method for abdominal magnetic resonance imaging providing both high spatial and high temporal resolution. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of different gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCA) on image quality (IQ) with CDT-VIBE.

Materials and methods

In this IRB-approved, retrospective, inter-individual comparison study, 86 patients scanned at 3T were included. Within 28 s, 14 high-resolution 3D datasets were acquired using CDT-VIBE. 37 patients received 0.1 mmol/kg gadoterate meglumine, 28 patients 0.1 mmol/kg gadobutrol, and 19 patients 0.1 mL/kg gadoxetic acid. Two blinded, board-certified radiologists assessed the image quality on a 5 point scale, as well as the number of hepatic arterial dominant (HAD) phases.

Results

Regardless of the GBCA utilized, CDT-VIBE resulted in good IQ in terms of best IQ achieved among all 14 datasets (gadobutrol 4.3, gadoterate meglumine 3.9, gadoxetic acid 3.7). With respect to worst IQ, the three groups showed statistically significant differences with gadobutrol receiving the highest rating (3.6) and gadoxetic acid the lowest (2.4) (gadoterate meglumine 3.0; 0.0014 < p < 0.0485). No statistically significant differences were found in the mean number of acquired HAD phases (gadobutrol 3.4, gadoterate meglumine 3.9, gadoxetic acid 3.1; 0.18 < p < 0.57).

Conclusion

Different gadolinium-based contrast agents can be utilized for dynamic liver imaging with CDT-VIBE resulting in good image quality.