The iodinated contrast media (ICM) use in hepatic CT studies is affected by multiple factors like those related to the clinical situation to be clarified [1], the patient's characteristics such as weight [2], age [3], and comorbidities [4] but also factors related with ICM administration techniques, namely when using fixed delays, test bolus strategies [5][6] or bolus tracking systems [7]. Therefore, there is a multiplicity of strategies when using ICM in the context of performing CT studies, namely different volumes, contrast media flow and scan...

1. Data collection After appropriate authorization, a six-week prospective study, conducted in two different hospitals in the centre region of Portugal, collected information on multiphase hepatic CT examinations of adult patients. Hospital_A used pre-established delays and Hospital_B used bolus-tracking support systems to optimize arterial and portal delays. The patients’ confidentiality, as well as of all actors involved in health care, was ensured. A questionnaire was used to collect pertinent intravenous contrast injection protocol data and anthropometric measurements (body weight and body height) along with the...

1. Sample This work evaluated a total of 71 hepatic CT studies, 33 from Hospital_A and 38 from Hospital_B. Fig. 2 and Fig. 3 resumed patient distribution according to age and gender, respectively. With exception to gender, which had different distribution, the patient sample had no statistically significant differences between institutions, as observed in Table 2. 2. Injection Protocol Analysis Concerning injection protocol parameters, analysed institutions presented relevant differences. Beyond the use or non-use of bolus tracking, injection flow rate and ICM dose presented statistically...

Despite similar patients’ anthropomorphic measurements and age distribution, CT injection protocol used in multiphase hepatic CT studies, mainly injection flow rate and ICM dose, was very different between the two analysed health facilities. Those differences resulted in strong differences in structures enhancement, especially in portal venous phase acquisition. Concerning to delays, analysed health facilities showed no differences between them neither in arterial, neither in portal venous delays. However, it was important to mention that Hospital_B showed larger distribution (higher SD) in arterial delays in relation...

Pereira, R. M.; Aveiro/PT - nothing to disclose [email protected] A. D. Gomes; Aveiro/PT - nothing to disclose M. C. Couto; Aveiro/PT - nothing to disclose M. A. Santos; Arazede/PT - nothing to disclose R. C. M. C. R. Gaspar; Coimbra/PT - nothing to disclose N. M. F. Campos; Coimbra/PT - nothing to disclose R. M. Cardoso; Aveiro/PT - nothing to disclose N. M. M. Neves; Aveiro/PT - nothing to disclose M. Santos; Aveiro, AVEIRO/PT - nothing to disclose

[1]A. Furuta, K. Ito, T. Fujita, S. Koike, A. Shimizu, and N. Matsunaga, “Hepatic Enhancement in Multiphasic Contrast-Enhanced MDCT: Comparison of High- and Low-Iodine-Concentration Contrast Medium in Same Patients with Chronic Liver Disease,” Am. J. Roentgenol., vol. 183, no. 1, pp. 157–162, Jul. 2004. [2]J. P. Heiken, J. A. Brink, B. L. McClennan, S. S. Sagel, T. M. Crowe, and M. V Gaines, “Dynamic incremental CT: effect of volume and concentration of contrast material and patient weight on hepatic enhancement,” Radiology, vol. 195, p. 353,...