What are the indications for a CT arthrography? What contrast material is used?
CT arthrography is most often used when patients have contraindications to undergoing MR arthrography including: implanted pacemaker/defibrillator devices, any internal metal objects that make MRI unsafe, or claustrophobia. CT arthrography is particularly useful for the demonstration of cartilage defects, evaluation of intraarticular bodies, fracture fragments, synovial disease, and assessment of ligamentous integrity. Additionally, CT arthrography is very helpful to evaluate postoperative patients with implanted metallic hardware, because beam hardening artifact can be mitigated. Some of the common indications for CT arthrography include: evaluation of labral pathology of the shoulder, evaluation of the postoperative rotator cuff, evaluation for meniscal tears in the postoperative knee, and evaluation for ligamentous pathology in the wrist. The injectate for CT arthrography varies by institution but can range from a 1 : 1 mix of 300 mg/ml nonionic iodinated contrast material and sterile saline, to full-strength contrast material
