Enhancement Characteristics and Impact on Image Quality of Two Gadolinium Chelates at Equimolar Doses for Time-Resolved 3-Tesla MR-Angiography of the Calf Station

PURPOSE: To compare enhancement characteristics and image quality of two macrocyclic gadolinium chelates, gadoterate meglumine and gadobutrol, in low-dose, time-resolved MRA of the calf station. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 100 consecutive patients with peripheral arterial disease (stages II-IV) were retrospectively analysed. Fifty patients were included in each group - 32 men and 18 women for gadobutrol (mean age 67 years) and 34 men, 16 women for gadoterate meglumine (mean age 64 years). 0.03 mmol/kg bw of either gadobutrol or gadoterate meglumine was injected. Gadobutrol was diluted 1∶1 with normal saline (0.9% NaCl) to provide similar injection volume and bolus geometry compared to the undiluted 0.5 M dose of gadoterate meglumine. Signal-to-noise-ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise-ratio (CNR) and image quality were analysed and compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Mean SNR ranged from 83.0±46.7 (peroneal artery) to 96.4±64.5 (anterior tibial artery) for gadobutrol, and from 37.6±13.8 (peroneal artery) to 45.3±16.4 (anterior tibial artery) for the gadoterate meglumine group (p<0.0001). CNR values ranged from 30.1±20.1 (peroneal artery) to 37.6±26.0 (anterior tibial artery) for gadobutrol and from 14.9±8.0 (peroneal artery) to 18.6±16.4 (anterior tibial artery) for gadoterate meglumine (p<0.0001). No significant difference in image quality was found except for the peroneal arteries (p = 0.006 and p = 0.04). Interreader agreement was excellent (kappa 0.87–0.93) CONCLUSION: The significantly better enhancement as assessed by SNR and CNR provided by gadobutrol compared to gadoterate meglumine does not translate into substantial differences in image quality in an equimolar, low-dose, time-resolved MRA protocol of the calves.