Dual-energy CT after radiofrequency ablation of liver, kidney, and lung lesions: a review of features

Insights into Imaging

Table 2 Early and long-term findings after RF ablation of kidney lesions in successful and unsuccessful results, with the added value of the DECT technique

		Early findings	Long-term findings
Successful	General findings	Non-enhancing area on the contrast-enhanced CT Often wedge shaped because of peripheral infarctions Streaky soft tissue attenuations in the perirenal fat	Regular borders of the ablation zone Slow reduction in size Fat between the ablation zone and normal kidney parenchyma
Successful	Added value of DECT	Improved contrast on the 40-keV images Clear differentiation between avascular and viable tissues on iodine images	Sharp depiction of the ablation zone’s edge on the iodine images
Unsuccessful	General findings	Persistent enhancement at the border of the ablation zone	Nodular attenuation difference around the ablation zone
Unsuccessful	Added value of DECT	Iodine concentrations that are similar to the original tumour, with quantitative assessment Higher lesion-to-liver contrast on the iodine images	Intermediate iodine concentration between the ablation zone and normal kidney parenchyma at the level of the tumour