Gallbladder opacification on gadoxetate disodium-enhanced CT scan

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Hepatobiliary Imaging

Background:

• Gadoxetate disodium is a liver-specific contrast agent used in MRI.
• Its excretion into the gallbladder lumen is a known physiological process.
• Accurate identification of excreted contrast in the gallbladder on CT has clinical implications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess radiologists' accuracy in detecting excreted gadoxetate disodium within the gallbladder on CT scans.
• To determine the potential utility of gadoxetate disodium-enhanced CT in evaluating gallbladder and cystic duct conditions.

Main Methods:

• Thirty-three healthy adults undergoing liver work-up received gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI and contrast-enhanced CT.
• Two abdominal radiologists independently reviewed CT scans for gallbladder hyperdensity, blinded to MRI findings.
• Twenty-two patients had CT scans within 24 hours of gadoxetate disodium-enhanced MRI.

Main Results:

• Radiologists correctly identified gallbladder hyperdensity (excreted gadoxetate disodium) in 20 out of 22 patients (90.9%) when CT was performed within 24 hours of MRI.
• No abnormal hyperdensity was reported in the remaining 10 patients.
• High inter-reader agreement was observed in identifying the presence or absence of excreted contrast.

Conclusions:

• CT scans can reliably detect gadoxetate disodium excreted into the gallbladder.
• Gadoxetate disodium-enhanced CT may be a valuable tool for assessing cystic duct patency.
• This technique could aid in the work-up of acute cholecystitis.