Qualitative and Quantitative Assessment of Abdominal and Pelvic CT Image Quality Using Iopromide With Different Concentrations of Iodine (300 and 370 mg I/mL).

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to analyze the quality of MDCT images obtained using iopromide with two different concentrations of iodine (300 and 370 mg I/mL) in daily clinical settings.

SUBJECTS AND

METHODS

Patients from 38 hospitals in China undergoing abdominal or pelvic CT with iopromide were prospectively recruited. MDCT was performed using iopromide with an iodine concentration of 300 or 370 mg I/mL. CT quality image was graded as excellent, good, adequate, and poor. Objective indicators were the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). Outcomes were compared according to organ studied, tumor type (benign vs malignant), saline usage, and type of MDCT (16-MDCT vs 64-MDCT).

RESULTS

A total of 4506 patients (63.7% men) with a mean (± SD) age of 56.3 ± 14.1 years and mean body mass index (weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters) of 23.2 ± 3.3 were included. Iopromide with 300 mg I/mL was used for 3042 patients (67.5%), and 370 mg I/mL was used for 1464 patients (32.2%). A total of 1847 scans (41.0%) had excellent image quality, 2454 (54.5%) had good quality, 176 (3.9%) had adequate quality, and 29 (0.6%) had poor quality. No differences were noted between CT scans that did or did not use saline, 16-MDCT versus 64-MDCT scans, and 300 versus 370 mg I/mL iopromide. Variations in the CNR and SNR were noted between the two iodine concentrations with respect to other parameters examined.

CONCLUSION

Iopromide with both concentrations of iodine provided acceptable image quality, though according to CNR and SNR, one or the other may provide better quality in different situations.