Study: CT urography may reduce need for radiation dose and images
The cross-sectional multi-detector CT urography technique reduces both radiation doses and the number of images produced, according to study results published in the August issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
“We wanted to show that a similar examination could be achieved with fewer scan acquisitions [meaning potentially less radiation and fewer images] by administering a split-bolus of IV contrast, without sacrificing sensitivity,” said Lawrence Chow, MD, lead author of the study.
The study involved 500 patients with possible urinary tract abnormalities, who underwent split-bolus CT urography, which identified 100 percent of pathologically confirmed renal and ureteral malignancies. CT urography had a sensitivity and specificity of 99 to100 percent and it also depicted other congenital abnormalities of the urinary tract.
Radiologists from Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif., and VA Palo Alto Health Care System in Palo Alto, Calif., conducted the study.
“We wanted to show that a similar examination could be achieved with fewer scan acquisitions [meaning potentially less radiation and fewer images] by administering a split-bolus of IV contrast, without sacrificing sensitivity,” said Lawrence Chow, MD, lead author of the study.
The study involved 500 patients with possible urinary tract abnormalities, who underwent split-bolus CT urography, which identified 100 percent of pathologically confirmed renal and ureteral malignancies. CT urography had a sensitivity and specificity of 99 to100 percent and it also depicted other congenital abnormalities of the urinary tract.
Radiologists from Stanford University School of Medicine in Stanford, Calif., and VA Palo Alto Health Care System in Palo Alto, Calif., conducted the study.