Abdom Imaging (2011)
Xuejuan Su, Yinghui Ge, Baosong Liang, Minghui Wu, Ying Guo, Bo Ma, Jianying Li
Abstract
Objective: To study the diagnostic accuracy of enhanced multi-detector CT virtual endoscopy (MDCT-VE) for small intestinal tumors. Materials and methods: 125 patients were examined by multi-detector CT (MDCT: 54 on 4-slice; 71 on 64-slice) following standard gastrointestinal tract cleansing, oral double contrast aerogenesis agent, and rectal gas admin-istration. Unenhanced CT was performed, followed by enhanced CT in supine (30 and 80s delay after 100 mL standard intravenous contrast medium) and prone posi-tions (180s delay). Supplementary CT in the lateral position was performed if small bowel was not well-filled. Images were reviewed on post-processing work¬stations with Virtual Endoscopy software. Results: 33/125 patients had proven small intestinal tumors: ten stromal tumors, nine lymphoma, eight adenocarcinomas, three hemangiomas, one each lipoma, Brunner gland adenoma, and hamartoma. 92 were nontumors. MDCT-VE correctly identified 30/33 cases with one false-positive diagnosis: sensitivity 90.9%, specificity 98.9% and accuracy 96.8%. Conclusion: Small intestinal MDCT-VE technique has high diagnostic accuracy for the detection of intestinal tumors. Contrast enhancement and adequate intestinal tract gas-filling can improve the detection rate for small intestinal tumors.