Table 4. Comparison of DIC-CT and MR cholangiography.
Method | Advantages | Limitations | Indications |
DIC-CT | Short scan time | Radiation exposure | Contraindications for MRC (e.g. cardiac pacemakers) |
High spatial resolution | Side effects caused by biliary contrast agent (iotroxic acid megulumine) | Pre-operative detailed evaluation of intrahepatic tiny bile duct (caudate, subvesical duct) | |
High contrast of biliary tree (including intrahepatic bile duct) | Poor visualisation associated with hyperbilirubinaemia | Post-operative assessment (e.g. detection of bile leak) | |
Evaluation of biliary flow and function | Insufficient opacification of excessively dilated biliary duct | ||
MRCP | No contrast agent used | Artefacts and pseudolesions | First choice for pancreaticobiliary diseases, particularly in the investigation of biliary obstruction |
No radiation exposure | Contraindications for MRI | ||
High contrast of extrahepatic bile duct | |||
Information of pancreatic duct | |||
EOB-MRC | Biliary flow imaging | No depiction of peripheral bile duct | Additional information about bile duct on ordinary Gd-EOB-DTPA- enhanced liver MRI |
Poor visualisation associated with liver dysfunction |
DIC-CT, drip infusion cholangiography with CT; EOB-MRC, gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid-enhanced MR cholangiography; Gd-EOB-DTPA, gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid; MRCP, MR cholangiopancreatography.