Krypton ventilation imaging using dual-energy CT in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients: initial experience.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the tolerance and level of enhancement achievable after inhalation of stable krypton.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study was approved by the institutional review board and the local ethics committee. Written informed consent was obtained from all subjects. The study was planned as a Fleming two-stage design, enabling one to assess the effectiveness of a newer treatment or technique on a small number of patients. At the end of each stage, the results are computed, and the trial can be stopped if the effectiveness is less than a minimum success rate or greater than an expected success rate. After informed consent was obtained, a total of 32 patients (ie, two successive series of 16 patients each) with severe emphysema underwent a dual-source, dual-energy chest computed tomographic (CT) examination after inhalation of a mixture of stable krypton (80%) and oxygen (20%), with reconstruction of diagnostic and ventilation images. For each patient, two regions of interest were selected on a diagnostic image, one in a region of severe emphysema (presumed to be poorly ventilated or not ventilated) and a second one in a region devoid of structural abnormalities (presumed to be normally ventilated), with measurements of attenuation values on the corresponding ventilation image.
RESULTS: All examinations were successfully performed, without adverse effects. Differences in attenuation between normal lung and emphysematous areas were found in 28 patients (88%; 95% confidence interval: 71%, 96.5%). The maximal level of attenuation within normal lung was 18.5 HU. Krypton attenuation difference between normal and emphysematous lung was significant, with a median value of 51.8% (P < .001).
CONCLUSION: The level of enhancement after inhalation of krypton and its excellent clinical tolerance makes this gas eligible for ventilation CT examinations. © RSNA, 2012.