CT Foot Perfusion Examination for Evaluation of Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty Outcome in Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia: A Feasibility Study

Abstract Purpose To evaluate foot perfusion in patients with critical limb ischemia (CLI) using quantitative perfusion multi–detector-row CT and estimate perfusion parameter changes before and after percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Materials and Methods This prospective study investigated 13 patients (10 men; median age, 72 y; range, 51–84 y) with CLI who underwent CT foot perfusion examinations with a 128-slice dual-energy CT scanner 1 day before and 1 week after PTA. Key parameters such as permeability surface (PS), blood volume (BV), and blood flow (BF) were analyzed and compared statistically. The studies were also examined by a second observer to determine interobserver reproducibility. Results Revascularization was technically successful in all patients, and mean ankle–brachial index increased from 0.36 ± 0.16 to 0.75 ± 0.22. After revascularization, mean BV increased from 1.55 mL/100 g ± 0.83 to 4.51 mL/100 g ± 1.53, BF increased from 16.28 mL/100 g/min ± 4.97 to 31.49 mL/100 g/min ± 6.86, and PS increased from 3.1 mL/min/100 g ± 1.95 to 8.67 mL/min/100 g ± 3.85 ( P P Conclusions CT foot perfusion is a reproducible technique that may be a useful modality for the estimation of PTA outcome. Significant restitution of perfusion parameters was observed after successful revascularization.