Department of MR Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China (J.L., M.H., Y.Z., F.Y., X.Z., J.C.).
Department of MR Imaging, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China (J.L., M.H., Y.Z., F.Y., X.Z., J.C.).
Acad Radiol. 2024 Apr;31(4):1326-1335. doi: 10.1016/j.acra.2023.08.016. Epub 2023 Oct 19.
This study aimed to evaluate the technical success rate and stiffness measurement reliability of two specific hepatic magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) sequences dedicated to solving susceptibility artifacts in patients with various degrees of hepatic iron overload.
Thirty-seven patients with iron-overloaded liver confirmed by R2* value measurement who underwent two-dimensional (2D) spin-echo (SE) MRE and 2D SE-echo-planar-imaging (EPI) MRE were reviewed retrospectively. According to four categories based on R2* value (mild, moderate, severe elevation, and extremely severe iron overload), we compared the success rate, quality score, and liver stiffness of the two sequences. In addition, Spearman's correlation was performed to evaluate the relationship between the R2* value and liver stiffness.
The overall success rates of SE MRE and SE-EPI MRE in patients with hepatic iron overload were 91.89% and 78.38%, respectively, and 100% and 78.57%, respectively, for severe elevation iron overload. In all patients, the MRE quality scores were 54 and 48 for SE MRE and SE-EPI MRE, respectively (P = 0.107). There were no significant differences in liver stiffness measurements between the two MRE methods in patients with mild, moderate, and severe elevation iron-overloaded livers (P > 0.6 for all), respectively. For both MRE methods, R2* value had no significant effect on the liver stiffness measurements (correlation coefficient <0.1, P >0.6 for both).
In the mild and moderate elevation iron-overloaded liver, both SE MRE and fast SE-EPI MRE can provide successful and reliable liver stiffness measurement. In severe elevation iron-overloaded livers, SE MRE may be a better choice than SE-EPI MRE.
本研究旨在评估两种专门用于解决不同程度铁过载肝脏磁化率伪影的特定磁共振弹性成像（MRE）序列的技术成功率和硬度测量可靠性。
回顾性分析 37 例经 R2* 值测量证实为铁过载肝脏且行二维（2D）自旋回波（SE）MRE 和 2D SE 回波平面成像（EPI）MRE 的患者。根据 R2* 值（轻度、中度、重度升高和极重度铁过载）分为 4 类，比较了两种序列的成功率、质量评分和肝脏硬度。此外，采用 Spearman 相关分析评估 R2* 值与肝脏硬度的关系。
铁过载患者 SE MRE 和 SE-EPI MRE 的总体成功率分别为 91.89%和 78.38%，重度升高铁过载患者的成功率分别为 100%和 78.57%。在所有患者中，SE MRE 和 SE-EPI MRE 的 MRE 质量评分为 54 和 48（P=0.107）。在轻度、中度和重度升高的铁过载肝脏患者中，两种 MRE 方法的肝脏硬度测量值均无显著差异（所有 P>0.6）。对于两种 MRE 方法，R2* 值对肝脏硬度测量值均无显著影响（相关系数均<0.1，均 P>0.6）。
在轻度和中度升高的铁过载肝脏中，SE MRE 和快速 SE-EPI MRE 均可提供成功且可靠的肝脏硬度测量。在重度升高的铁过载肝脏中，SE MRE 可能是比 SE-EPI MRE 更好的选择。
