Impact of multislice CT angiography on planning of radiological catheter placement for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy

The objective of this study was to assess prospectively the role of multislice CT angiography (MSCTA) on planning of radiological catheter placement for hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC). Forty-six patients with malignant liver tumors planned for HAIC were included. In each patient, both MSCTA and intra-arterial digital subtraction angiography (DSA) were performed, except one patient who did not undergo DSA. Comparison of MSCTA and DSA images was performed for the remaining 45 patients. Detectability of anatomical variants of the hepatic artery, course of the celiac trunk, visualization scores of arterial branches and interobserver agreement, presence of arterial stenosis, and technical outcome were evaluated. Anatomical variations of the hepatic artery were detected in 19 of 45 patients (42%) on both modalities. The course of the celiac trunk was different in 12 patients. The visualization scores of celiac arterial branches on MSCTA/DSA were 3.0 +/- 0/2.9 +/- 0.2 in the celiac trunk, 3.0 +/- 0/2.9 +/- 0.3 in the common hepatic artery, 2.9 +/- 0.2/2.9 +/- 0.3 in the proper hepatic artery, 2.9 +/- 0.3/2.9 +/- 0.4 in the right hepatic artery, 2.8 +/- 0.4/2.9 +/- 0.4 in the left hepatic artery, 2.9 +/- 0.2/2.9 +/- 0.3 in the gastroduodenal artery, 2.1 +/- 0.8/2.2 +/- 0.9 in the right gastric artery, and 2.7 +/- 0.8/2.6 +/- 0.8 in the left gastric artery. No statistically significant differences exist between the two modalities. Interobserver agreement for MSCTA was equivalent to that for DSA. Two patients showed stenosis of the celiac trunk on both modalities. Based on these imaging findings, technical success was accomplished in all patients. In conclusion, MSCTA is accurate in assessing arterial anatomy and abnormalities. MSCTA can provide adequate information for planning of radiological catheter placement for HAIC.