Characterizing incidental mass lesions in abdominal dual-energy CT compared to conventional contrast-enhanced CT

Incidental findings are common in abdominal computed tomography (CT) and often warrant further investigations with economic implications as well as implications for patients.

To evaluate the potential of dual-energy CT (DECT) in the identification and/or characterization of abdominal incidental mass lesions compared to conventional contrast-enhanced CT.

This retrospective study from a major tertiary hospital included 96 patients, who underwent contrast-enhanced abdominal DECT. Incidental lesions in adrenals, kidneys, liver, and pancreas were evaluated by two board-certified abdominal radiologists. Observer 1 only had access to standard CT reconstructions, while observer 2 had access to standard CT as well as DECT reconstructions. Disagreements were resolved by consensus review and used as a reference for observers using McNemar's test.

Observers 1 and 2 identified a total of 40 and 34 findings, respectively. Furthermore, observer 1 registered 13 lesions requiring follow-up, of which seven (two renal and five adrenal lesions) were resolved following consensus review using DECT (P = 0.008). The inter-observer agreement was near perfect (κ = 0.82).

DECT has the potential to improve the immediate characterization of incidental findings when compared to conventional CT for abdominal imaging.