A single dose of the contrast agent gadobenate dimeglumine can help liver donors avoid multiple MRI examinations during the screening process, cutting down on time and cost without compromising accuracy, say researchers from the Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea.
For the study, 11 potential liver donors underwent MRI examinations after a single dose of gadobenate dimeglumine in order to screen them for donor adequacy. The researchers were able to find anatomical abnormalities in six of the patients that potentially could have affected either the selection or the surgery process. The MRI results were all corroborated at surgery.
“Preoperative imaging is crucial for both the selection of potential living liver donors and the planning of liver transplantation because it reveals the exact anatomy of the donor liver. By performing MRI on a potential donor, doctors can assess any abnormality or variation in the liver itself, its vessels or its bile duct. To improve the accuracy of MRI, contrast media is used,” said Myeong-Jin Kim, MD, one of the researchers on the study.