Smitha Rajaram1, Andy James Swift1,
David Capener1, Adam Telfer1, Judith Hurdman2,
Robin Condliffe2, Charlie Elliot2, Christine Davies3,
Catherine Hill3, David G. Kiely2, Jim M. Wild1
1Academic Unit of
Radiology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom; 2Pulmonary
Vascular Disease Unit, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield; 3Department
of Radiology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield
The aim of our study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of contrast enhanced MR angiography (c-MRA) and added benefit of non-contrast proton MRI compared to CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) in patients with chronic thromboembolic disease. Our results show that c-MRA has a very good sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing CTEPH. The sensitivity of c-MRA for visualization of adherent central and lobar thrombus significantly improves with the addition of the SSFP sequence that clearly delineates the vessel wall. CTPA is superior for depiction of intraluminal webs and sub-segmental disease, while c-MRA is superior in identifying stenosis and post-stenotic dilatations