Brief communication (Original). Correlation between liver signal intensity in hepatobiliary phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA enhancement and liver function reserves

Background: Gadolinium diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA) is a developed agent with preferential uptake by hepatocytes. A rapid and specific hepatocyte uptake with biliary excretion was observed of approximately 50% of the injected dose. The amount of contrast uptake is thought to be related to reserve liver function.

Objectives: To evaluate correlation between liver signal intensity in the hepatobiliary phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA and reserved liver function by using the model score for end-stage liver disease (MELD).

Methods:All patients who underwent magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with Gd-EOB-DTPA were retrospectively collected. The patients with serum creatinine level higher than 1.5 mg/dL or patients without available data to estimate MELD score were excluded. Thirty-six patients were enrolled. A signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the liver parenchyma on a fat-suppressed three dimensional fast spoiled-gradient recalled echo sequence images before and 20 minutes after contrast injection were measured and calculated on PACS by two radiologists. The MELD score was determined and interobserver reliability was estimated.

Results: Among 36 patients, we found a negative relationship between the percentage enhancement and the MELD score (P < 0.01, r = 0.545). The SNR at 20 minutes after Gd-EOB-DTPA injection also had a negative relationship with the MELD score with statistical significance (P < 0.01, r = 0.460). Interobserver reliability was 0.675.

Conclusion: The percentage enhancement in hepatobiliary phase of Gd-EOB-DTPA can predict reserved liver function.