Pancreatic CT imaging: Effects of different injection rates and doses of contrast material

PURPOSE: To assess the effects of the intravenous injection rate and dose of contrast material on pancreatic computed tomography (CT). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 126 patients were divided at random into four groups with different injection rates and doses. Groups 1 and 2 underwent injection of 2 mt per kilogram of body weight of 300 mg of iodine per milliliter of contrast material, and groups 3 and 4 underwent injection of 1.5 mL/kg. The injection rate was 5 mL/sec for groups 1 and 3 and 3 mL/sec for groups 2 and 4. Single-level serial CT scanning was performed at the level of the pancreatic head, and the pancreatic enhancement value was calculated. RESULTS: The maximum pancreatic enhancement value was 99 HU +/- 18 (mean +/- SD) for group 1, 90 HU +/- 18 for group 2, 86 HU +/- 15 for group 3, and 74 HU +/- 13 for group 4. There were significant differences in the maximum pancreatic enhancement value between groups 1 and 2 (P =.045), between groups 3 and 4 (P =.001), between groups 1 and 3 (P =.016), and between groups 2 and 4 (P =.001). CONCLUSION: Both a higher dose and a faster injection rate increased the maximum pancreatic enhancement value.