Ferumoxtran-10-enhanced 3-T Magnetic Resonance Angiography of Pelvic Arteries: Initial Experience

Patients with renal impairment cannot undergo angiography because iodine and gadolinium contrast agents are contraindicated. Iron-containing ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide particles, such as ferumoxtran-10, are not contraindicated in these patients. Thus, patients with renal failure can still undergo angiography with ferumoxtran-10.

To evaluate the visibility of pelvic vessels with magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) using ferumoxtran-10 as contrast agent.

Three hundred and eighty-one patients diagnosed with primary or recurrent prostate cancer underwent pelvic ferumoxtran-10 MRA. Eleven anatomical pelvic-vessel segments per patient were evaluated using qualitative and quantitative criteria for image quality (IQ), vessel visibility (VV), and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR).

Ferumoxtran-10-enhaced MRA.

IQ, VV, and CNR were assessed on a 5-point scale for each data set/vessel segment (very poor, poor, moderate, good, and excellent).

IQ was good to excellent for 98.2% of the data sets and VV was good to excellent for 97.7% of all vessel segments. The mean CNR for all segments was 88.13 (standard deviation 4.22). Contrast bolus imaging cannot be performed with this technique, so it is impossible to visualize the arterial or venous phase separately. The timing of contrast administration is also a limitation, with MRA performed 1 d after contrast infusion.

Ferumoxtran-10 MRA showed excellent image quality and visibility for pelvic vessels. In addition, the homogeneity of the intraluminal contrast was superior. Patients with preterminal or terminal renal function can benefit from ferumoxtran-10 MRA if visualization of their pelvic vessels is required.

Magnetic resonance imaging of blood vessels using a contrast agent called ferumoxtran-10 is a promising technique for patients with impaired kidney function, as it provides high-quality visualization of blood vessels in the pelvis.