Liver function correlates with liver-to-portal vein contrast ratio during the hepatobiliary phase with Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR at 3 Tesla
Abstract
To determine if liver-to-portal vein contrast ratio (LPC) correlates with liver function in patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV)-related cirrhosis on gadolinium-ethoxybenzyl-diethylenetriamine penta-acetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced MR imaging. A total of 92 patients with normal (n = 20) or HBV-related cirrhotic livers graded by Child-Pugh class A (n = 50), B (n = 17) or C (n = 5) who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced 3Tesla MR imaging were retrospectively reviewed. LPC was defined as the signal intensity ratio of liver parenchyma to portal vein on hepatobiliary phase (HBP) acquired at 20 min, and it was compared between normal and cirrhotic livers. The correlation between LPC and hepatic function parameters at HBP after injection was quantitatively analyzed as well. LPC differed between normal and cirrhotic livers significantly (P < 0.001). LPC constantly and significantly decreased from normal to cirrhotic livers with Child-Pugh class C at HBP imaging (P < 0.001). Multiple regression analysis revealed that total bilirubin (P = 0.011), albumin (P < 0.001), and platelet count (P = 0.007) were independent predictors of LPC at HBP imaging. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the optimal cutoff va...Continue Reading