Computed tomography protocols used in staging bronchopulmonary carcinoma: Results of a national survey

Contrast medium protocols in routine chest CT: a survey study

“…The injection strategy and scan timing are critical aspects of the CT examination as they may facilitate the acquisition at a specific level of contrast enhancement (1). Based on our results, a fixed delay of ≤45 s is the most commonly used scan timing approach for routine chest CT (57%); however, reported timing varied by 70 s. The lack of consistency may be due to the fact that thoracic CT scans are routinely performed for a wide range of clinical indications, thus with a variety of protocols (21,43). While some publications recommend scanning at a 60-s delay to achieve a better evaluation of pleural findings and malignant lesions (44–46), other guidelines and authors specifically recommend scanning early, after a delay of 20–35 s (1,47).…”

“…Few published studies have investigated routine chest CT protocols and CM administration strategies in detail. Previous studies (20,21) have focused on variations in non-enhanced CT or CT protocols including both chest and upper abdomen. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to survey the chest CT protocols currently in use, focusing on variations in administration strategies of CM and parameters affecting enhancement of CM.…”

“…Large inter-practice variation and lack of consensus in chest CT protocols is still observed in clinical practice and scientific articles (20,21). Few published studies have investigated routine chest CT protocols and CM administration strategies in detail.…”

Early and delayed phases of contrast-enhanced CT for evaluating patients with malignant pleural effusion. Results of pairwise comparison by multiple observers

“…What we call early delay in our series corresponds to that recommended for the chest by the Royal College of Radiology for cross-sectional imaging in cancer management 11 and is routinely used in many radiology facilities, as reported in a Spanish radiologist's survey on the management of lung cancer. 10 However, Hooper et al 17 reported coexistence of both malignant effusion and pulmonary embolism in up to 9.8% in a series of patients presenting with unilateral pleural effusion and they suggest a combined CT pulmonary angiography and a pleural phase CT protocol in this setting.…”

“…Aside from angiographic examinations, thoracic CT scans are routinely performed with a variety of protocols, with many institutions using early phases for scanning the chest and delayed phases for the abdomen. 10 The British Thoracic Society (BTS) statement on malignant mesothelioma specifically recommends scanning at 60 s delay to achieve a better contrast of the tumoral lesions, 11 while other guidelines 12 specifically recommend an early (25-30 s delay) for the chest acquisition in cancer follow-up.…”