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Gastrointestinal Imaging |
1 From the Imaging Sciences Department, Medical Research Council Clinical Sciences Centre (A.K.P.L., N.P., R.J.E., D.O.C., S.D.T., M.J.K.B.) and Department of Medicine A (N.P., S.D.T.), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, Du Cane Rd, London W12 0HS, England; and Departments of Medicine (H.C.T., S.D.T.) and Histopathology (R.D.G.), Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, St Mary's Hospital, London, England. Received September 2, 2004; revision requested November 10; revision received June 16, 2005; accepted July 11; final version accepted September 1. Supported by the United Kingdom Department of Health, the British Medical Research Council, and United Kingdom National Health Service Research and Development Initiative. A.K.P.L. supported by the Kodak Scholarship, Royal College of Radiologists. Address correspondence to A.K.P.L. (e-mail: a.lim{at}imperial.ac.uk).
Purpose: To prospectively compare transit times of Levovist and SonoVue in healthy volunteers and patients with biopsy-proved hepatitis C–related liver disease.
Materials and Methods: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained. Forty patients and 25 healthy volunteers were examined. Subjects fasted, a bolus of SonoVue (0.6 mL) was injected into a cubital fossa vein, and hepatic venous time–intensity profiles were measured with spectral Doppler tracing. This was repeated with two injections of Levovist (2 g) and another injection of SonoVue. Time-intensity curves of spectral Doppler signals of right and middle hepatic veins were analyzed. A sustained signal intensity increase of 10% above baseline levels indicated hepatic vein transit time (HVTT). Carotid artery audio intensity was measured in volunteers. Analysis of variance and t tests were used for statistical analysis.
Results: Twelve patients had mild hepatitis; 18, moderate or severe hepatitis; and 10, cirrhosis. Mean HVTTs in control, mild hepatitis, moderate or severe hepatitis, and cirrhosis groups were 38.3 seconds ± 2.4 (standard error), 47.5 seconds ± 6.5, 29.5 seconds ± 10.8, and 17.6 seconds ± 5.0, respectively, with Levovist (P < .001) and 29.4 seconds ± 6.9, 27.4 seconds ± 9.3, 22.9 seconds ± 4.7, and 16.4 seconds ± 4.9, respectively, with SonoVue (P < .001). HVTT decreased as severity increased at imaging with both contrast agents. There was no significant difference in HVTT between mild and moderate hepatitis groups with SonoVue; however, there were significant differences in HVTT between all patient groups with Levovist. HVTT of SonoVue was shorter than that of Levovist in all groups (P < .001) except the cirrhosis group; in this group, HVTT of the two contrast agents was similar (P = .05). No difference was observed in mean cardiopulmonary transit time for SonoVue or Levovist (9.1 seconds ± 2.4 [standard error] and 8.4 seconds ± 2.5, respectively, P = .18).
Conclusion: HVTT was significantly shorter with SonoVue than with Levovist; there was no significant difference in cardiopulmonary transit time.
© RSNA, 2006
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  J H ZHOU, A H LI, L H CAO, H H JIANG, L Z LIU, X Q PEI, and F HAN Haemodynamic parameters of the hepatic artery and vein can detect liver metastases: assessment using contrast-enhanced ultrasound Br. J. Radiol., February 1, 2008; 81(962): 113 - 119. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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