[Three-phase dynamic helical CT for hepatocellular carcinoma: optimal scanning protocol]

To assess the optimal scanning protocol for three-phase dynamic helical CT, 20 patients were examined according to the following 4 methods (5 cases each) : (1) 100 ml Iopamidol (300 mgI/ml), at a rate of 2 ml/sec ; (2) 120 ml,3 ml/sec, (3) 150 ml, 3 ml/sec ; (4) biphasic method, initial 100 ml, 3.3 ml/sec ; remaining 50 ml, 1.6 ml/sec. Assessment of the time-density curve of the aorta, and the liver parenchyma, indicated that protocol (4) was superior to the others. Using protocol (4), 32 patients (62 nodules) with hepatocellular carcinoma underwent three-phase scanning, consisting of early, late, and delayed phases. Out of 61 nodules, 43 nodules were detected as high density areas in the early phase, 7 nodules as low density areas only in the late phase, and 3 nodules as low density areas only in the delayed phase. Compared with MRI, three-phase dynamic helical CT demonstrated numerous nodules, especially those less than 10 mm in diameter, and, therefore, was useful for the detection of hepatocellular carcinoma.