Hepatic perfusion abnormalities during CT angiography: detection and interpretation.

Twenty-seven perfusion abnormalities were detected in 17 of 50 patients who underwent computed tomographic angiography (CTA) of the liver. All but one of the perfusion abnormalities occurred in patients with primary or metastatic liver tumors. Perfusion abnormalities were lobar in nine cases, segmental in 11, and subsegmental in seven; 14 were hypoperfusion and 13 were hyperperfusion abnormalities. The causes for the abnormalities included nonperfusion of a replaced hepatic artery (n = 11), cirrhosis and nodular regeneration (n = 3), altered hepatic hemodynamics (e.g., siphoning, laminar flow) caused by tumor (n = 7), contrast media washout from a nonperfused vessel (n = 1), compression of adjacent hepatic parenchyma (n = 1), and unknown (n = 4). Differentiation of perfusion abnormalities from tumor usually can be made by comparing the morphology of the known tumor with the suspected perfusion abnormality, changes of each on delayed CTA scans, and review of initial angiograms and other imaging studies.