Assessment of hemodynamics in a rat model of liver cirrhosis with precancerous lesions using multislice spiral CT perfusion imaging

Rationale and Objectives. To develop an optimal scanning protocol for multislice spiral CT perfusion (CTP) imaging to evaluate hemodynamic changes in liver cirrhosis with diethylnitrosamine- (DEN-) induced precancerous lesions. Materials and Methods. Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into the control group (n=80) and the precancerous liver cirrhosis group (n=40). The control group received saline injection and the liver cirrhosis group received 50 mg/kg DEN i.p. twice a week for 12 weeks. All animals underwent plain CT scanning, CTP, and contrast-enhanced CT scanning. Scanning parameters were optimized by adjusting the diatrizoate concentration, the flow rate, and the delivery time. The hemodynamics of both groups was further compared using optimized multislice spiral CTP imaging. Results. High-quality CTP images were obtained with following parameters: 150 kV; 150 mAs; 5 mm thickness, 5 mm interval; pitch, 1; matrix, 512×512; and FOV, 9.6 cm. Compared to the control group, the liver cirrhosis group had a significantly increased value of the hepatic arterial fraction and the hepatic artery perfusion (P<0.05) but significantly decreased hepatic portal perfusion and mean transit time (P<0.05). Conclusion. Multislice spiral CTP imaging can be used to evaluate the hemodynamic changes in the rat model of liver cirrhosis with precancerous lesions.