J Korean Radiol Soc.  1992 Dec;28(6):942-950.

Advantades of the intravenous bolus CT scan in differentiation of hepatic masses

• Cho JH
• Chang JC
• Park BH

Abstract

We performed IV bolus CT scan in 40 patients with final diagnosis of various hepatic masses in order to evaluate hemodynamic changes and differentiating characters of the lesions. Preenhanced, early and late phase post enhanced, and delayed CT scans were obtained with rapid IV bolus injection of contrast materials and table sliding method for pertinent scans. In hepatomas, early enhanced CT scan directly showed hypervascular change and active viable portion of the mass and late phase CT scan showed capsular enhancement. In addition, extracapsular invasion and post-embolization recurrence were more easily visualized. In hemangiomas, early and late enhancing types could be categorized according to the time of maximal enhancement. In metastatic liver malignancies and cholangiocarcinomas, specific findings were seen in early phase and delayed CT scans and not in conventional CT scan. In conclusion, IV bolus CT scan is a very useful CT method in demonstrating the characteristic hemodynamic patterns and in differential diagnosis of the hepatic masses.

MeSH Terms

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular
Cholangiocarcinoma
Contrast Media
Diagnosis
Diagnosis, Differential
Hemangioma
Hemodynamics
Humans
Liver
Methods
Recurrence
Tomography, X-Ray Computed*
Contrast Media