Peripheral Contrast-Enhanced MR Angiography Using a SNR and Timing Optimized Protocol: Evaluation of Patient Lower Extremity Hemodynamics in 48 Patients

Earl Michael Chester¹, George R. Oliveira¹, Gregory J. Wilson^1,2, Jeffrey Harold Maki^1,3

This is a retrospective study examining arterial and venous hemodynamics in an optimized three-station moving-table peripheral contrast-enhanced MR angiography technique applied to 48 patients being evaluated for PVOD. This study found no significant difference in average aorta-foot arterial or aorta-to-lower extremity venous contrast arrival time between claudication patients with and without diabetes mellitus, or between claudicants and those with peripheral ulcers. There was, however, a significant difference in lower extremity venous enhancement (p=0.044) between patients with claudication and those with peripheral ulcers. This study demonstrates the difficulty in predicting venous contrast arrival without a priori knowledge of patient-specific timing parameters.