CT pulmonary angiography with a macromolecular contrast medium: a comparative study versus iobitridol in rabbits

To compare the pharmacokinetics of a new macromolecular iodinated contrast medium, prototype P743, with a standard contrast agent (iobitridol) for spiral computed tomography pulmonary angiography in rabbits.

Manual injection was first used to test the performance of P743 even in cases of nonoptimal bolus timing. Then a protocol was designed to compare vessel enhancement in both first-pass and delayed scans for the two contrast agents with the help of a power injector.

With manual fast injection, the first pass of iobitridol was observed only on proximal scans. Conversely, opacification of vessels was maintained during three spiral scans with P743 under the same injection conditions. When optimal bolus timing was performed, higher vessel enhancement was observed during bolus first pass with iobitridol (iodine dosage 250 mg I/kg) compared with P743 (150 mg I/kg). However, during the postbolus phase, the decrease in attenuation values was markedly faster with iobitridol than with P743.

This study confirmed that P743 remains more intravascular than iobitridol, which may have clinical implications for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism, for example.