MR diagnosis of a pulmonary embolism: comparison of P792 and Gd-DOTA for first-pass perfusion MRI and contrast-enhanced 3D MRA in a rabbit model

• Published in: Korean journal of radiology Vol. 10; no. 5; pp. 447 - 454
• Main Authors: Keilholz, Shella D, Bozlar, Ugur, Fujiwara, Naomi, Mata, Jaime F, Berr, Stuart S, Corot, Claire, Hagspiel, Klaus D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) The Korean Society of Radiology 01.09.2009; 대한영상의학회
• Subjects: Animals; Catheters; Contrast agents; Contrast Media - administration & dosage; Defects; Heterocyclic Compounds - administration & dosage; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Injections, Intravenous; Magnetic Resonance Angiography - methods; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Medical imaging; Molecular weight; Organometallic Compounds - administration & dosage; Original; Pulmonary arteries; Pulmonary Embolism - diagnosis; Pulmonary embolisms; Rabbits; Scintigraphy; Veins & arteries; Ventilation; 방사선과학; France; Pulmonary embolism; P792; Angiography, perfusion
• ISSN: 1229-6929; 2005-8330
• DOI: 10.3348/kjr.2009.10.5.447

To compare P792 (gadomelitol, a rapid clearance blood pool MR contrast agent) with gadolinium-tetraazacyclododecanetetraacetic acid (Gd-DOTA), a standard extracellular agent, for their suitability to diagnose a pulmonary embolism (PE) during a first-pass perfusion MRI and 3D contrast-enhanced (CE) MR angiography (MRA). A perfusion MRI or CE-MRA was performed in a rabbit PE model following the intravenous injection of a single dose of contrast agent. The time course of the pulmonary vascular and parenchymal enhancement was assessed by measuring the signal in the aorta, pulmonary artery, and lung parenchyma as a function of time to determine whether there is a significant difference between the techniques. CE-MRA studies were evaluated by their ability to depict the pulmonary vasculature and following defects between 3 seconds and 15 minutes after a triple dose intravenous injection of the contrast agents. The P792 and Gd-DOTA were equivalent in their ability to demonstrate PE as perfusion defects on first pass imaging. The signal from P792 was significantly higher in vasculature than that from Gd-DOTA between the first and the tenth minutes after injection. The results suggest that a CE-MRA PE could be reliably diagnosed up to 15 minutes after injection. P792 is superior to Gd-DOTA for the MR diagnosis of PE.