In the absence of Gd-DTPA, the pancreas could be delineated partly in ii cases. After administration of Gd-DTPA, the pancreas could be well differentiated from stomach and duodenum in 16 of 20 cases. In the absence of mannitol, two of the five

To determine the safety and efficacy of gadopentetate dimeglumine as a bowel contrast agent, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging (0.5 T) was performed with a formulation of gadopentetate dimeglumine (1.0 mmol/L of gadopentetate dimeglumine, 15 g/L of mannitol, 6-17 mL/kg) in 133 patients with intraabdominal mass lesions. Mostly short-lived gastrointestinal side effects were noted in 32% of patients. Gadopentetate dimeglumine provided uniform hyperintense marking of the bowel and contrast enhancement in the region of interest in 81% of patients. Among 78 patients with images obtained both before and after administration of contrast material, post-contrast improvement of lesion delineation was found in 62%. Among 55 patients with only postcontrast images, gadopentetate dimeglumine proved useful in 65%. Intravenous injection of scopolamine or glucagon effectively eliminated "ghost" images of the opacified bowel in 105 of 109 cases. The authors conclude that gadopentetate dimeglumine is a safe and effective bowel contrast agent for MR imaging.

In 56 patients with intracranial tumor T2-weighted multi echo (ME) [TR: 1600 ms, TE: 30 to 240 ms (8 echoes)] and T1-weighted Gd-DTPA-enhanced images (TR: 400 ms, TE: 30 ms or 35 ms) were compared with respect to tumor contrast and tumor delineation. In subgroups of 20 and 14 patients, respectively, tumor/brain- and tumor/edema-contrast were assessed on both a subjective and a quantitative basis (contrast-to-noise ratio, CNR). CNR's for tumor/brain-contrast were significantly higher on Gd-DTPA enhanced images than on ME scans. No significant differences between techniques were found for CNR's of tumor/edema-contrast. ME images yielded pathological findings in 54 of the 56 patients but visually assessed tumor delineation was achieved in only 36 cases. Fifteen out of 25 intraaxial tumors and 5 out of 31 extraaxial tumors could not be sufficiently delineated on ME images. In contrast, Gd-DTPA-enhanced images provided differentiation of tumor and surrounding tissues in 55 of 56 studies. In conclusion, ME images have proved highly sensitive in detecting intracranial lesions. However, brain tumors, especially intraaxial tumors could often not be differentiated from adjacent tissues on ME images. After Gd-DTPA, T1-weighted images provided more reliable tumor detection and delineation.)

Safety and efficacy of gadopentetate-dimeglumine (Gd-DTPA) as a MR bowel contrast agent were determined in 133 patients with CT-proved abdominal and retroperitoneal mass lesions using a buffered formulation (1 mmol/l Gd-DTPA, 15 g/l mannitol, 25 mmol/l sodium-citrate, 6-17 ml/kg). Short-lived gastrointestinal side effects were noted in 32% of patients. Gd-DTPA provided uniform, hyperintense bowel labelling and contrast enhancement in the region of interest in 81% of patients. Among 78 patients with pre- and postcontrast images lesion delineation was improved in 62%. In 55 studies with postcontrast images only, Gd-DTPA proved useful in 65%. In 105 of 109 cases IV injection of scopolamine or glucagon eliminated image artifacts arising from peristalsis of opacified bowel. The authors conclude that Gd-DTPA is a safe and effective MR bowel contrast agent.

32 patients with abdominal tumours or inflammatory abdominal diseases were examined by MRI (0.5 T) prior to and after oral administration of gadolinium-DTPA (Gd-DTPA). T1- and T2-weighted sequences were employed. 10 ml/kg body weight of a Gd-DTPA formulation were administered (1.0 mmol/l, 15 g mannitol/l). Gd-DTPA provided markedly hyperintensive opacification of the gastrointestinal tract. In 19 of 32 studies Gd-DTPA-enhanced scans showed improved delineation of abdominal pathologies. In most cases Gd-DTPA-enhanced T1-weighted multislice gradient echo images provided the most useful diagnostic result. Meteorism and diarrhea were recorded in 13 patients.