Correlation of perfusion abnormalities on CTAP and immediate postintravenous gadolinium-enhanced gradient echo MRI

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate patients with wedge- shaped perfusion defects seen on spiral CT arterial portography for the presence of transient increased wedge-shaped enhancement on dynamic gadolinium-enhanced gradient echo MR images. Methods: Nineteen patients underwent CTAP and MRI within a 2-week interval. All patients with wedge- shaped perfusion defects on CT arterial portography were evaluated in a separate review session for the presence of transient increased segmental hepatic enhancement on dynamic gadolinium-enhanced spoiled gradient echo (SGE) MR images. Results: Eight patients were identified to have subsegmental, segmental, or lobar wedge-shaped perfusion defects by CT arterial portography. In 8/8 patients, there was transient wedge-shaped increased hepatic enhancement on MR images which corresponded to the perfusion defects identified on CT arterial portography. Transient increased enhancement on MR images was observed on immediate postgadolinium images as high-signal intensity of the involved subsegment, segment, or lobe. This relatively high-signal area faded to near isointensity in all cases on images obtained at 45 s. Conclusion: Wedge-shaped perfusion defects demonstrated by CT arterial portography corresponded to wedge-shaped increased hepatic enhancement following gadolinium administration on SGE MR images.