Health economic evaluation of Gd-EOB-DTPA MRI vs ECCM-MRI and multi-detector computed tomography in patients with suspected hepatocellular carcinoma in Thailand and South Korea.

Objective: The effectiveness of treatment decisions and economic outcomes of using gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (Gd-EOB-DTPA-MRI) were compared with extracellular contrast media-enhanced MRI (ECCM-MRI) and multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) as initial procedures in patients with suspected hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in South Korea and Thailand.

Methods: A decision-tree model simulated the clinical pathway for patients with suspected HCC from the first imaging procedure to a confirmed treatment decision. Input data (probabilities and resource consumptions) were estimated and validated by clinical experts.

Albumin-binding MR blood pool contrast agent improves diagnostic performance in human brain tumour: comparison of two contrast agents for glioblastoma.

Objective: We qualitatively and quantitatively compared MRI enhancement obtained with gadofosveset, an albumin-binding blood-pool contrast agent, and with gadobutrol, an extracellular contrast agent, in patients with glioblastoma.

Methods: Thirty-five patients (25 men; 64 ± 14 years) with histologically proven glioblastoma underwent MRI including pre- and post-contrast T1-weighted SE images acquired 5 min after gadobutrol (0.1 mmol/kg) and, 48 h later, images acquired with identical parameters 5 min and 3, 6, and 24 h after gadofosveset (0.

Use of contrast sonography to test for tubal patency in dairy cattle.

Hysterosalpingo-contrast sonography is an accurate first-line method used to test for tubal patency in human gynecology. Tubal pathology occurs in dairy cattle and is a reason for infertility, but easy and accurate methods to test for tubal patency are not available in the living cow. In this study it was thus investigated if contrast sonography (CS) using Echovist-200 as the echo-contrast medium is a feasible procedure to test for tubal patency in dairy cattle.