Impact of CT texture analysis on complication rate in CT-guided liver biopsies.

AIM OF THE STUDY

Texture analysis derived from computed tomography (CT) involves quantitative imaging parameters characterizing possible valuable associations with clinical purposes. Their prognostic capability in patients undergoing percutaneous CT-guided liver biopsy to identify associations with postinterventional bleeding complications and biopsy success is not sufficiently explored.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Three hundred fifteen patients (124 female, 39%) with a mean age of 62.5 ±10.2 years underwent percutaneous CT-guided liver biopsy and were analyzed regarding clinical, procedure-related, and CT texture features.

RESULTS

Thirty patients (9.5%) presented with bleeding after biopsy (including two requiring interventional treatment), whereas 46 patients (14.6%) had negative biopsy successes. Distance of lesion from liver capsule was statistically significantly different in patients with and without bleeding ( = 0.015). Several texture features were statistically significantly different between the groups, S(0,1)SumAverg having the highest significance ( = 0.004). Regarding unsuccessful biopsy results, liver fibrosis was the only clinical feature with statistical significance ( = 0.049). Only two texture features (S(4,-4)InvDfMom and Teta3) were statistically different between the groups according to the biopsy result.

CONCLUSIONS

Several CT texture features of the target lesion and the length from the capsule to the lesion were associated with bleeding complications after CT-guided percutaneous liver biopsy. This could be used to identify patients at risk at the beginning of the procedure.