Automated pancreatic extracellular volume fraction as a biomarker for microangiopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE

To develop noninvasive, opportunistic screening methods using routine abdominal enhanced CT imaging to derive an automated pancreatic extracellular volume fraction (AP-ECV) as a novel biomarker for evaluating microangiopathy in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

METHODS

A retrospective study was conducted on 320 patients with T2DM who underwent routine enhanced abdominal CT examinations. Microangiopathy refers to retinopathy, nephropathy or peripheral neuropathy in patients with diabetes. An automated method was developed to calculate AP-ECV values from enhanced abdominal CT images. The association between AP-ECV and T2DM microangiopathy was evaluated using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Then, assess the sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for AP-ECV's diagnostic ability in T2DM microangiopathy. Ordinal logistic regression estimated risk factors associated with the severities of microangiopathy, categorized into three levels.

RESULTS

AP-ECV and T2DM duration significantly increased in T2DM patients with microangiopathy (p < 0.01). The AUC for AP-ECV and T2DM duration were 0.767 and 0.761, respectively, with a combined AUC of 0.881. As AP-ECV increased (OR 1.406) and T2DM duration lengthened (OR 1.163), microangiopathy severity significantly escalated.

CONCLUSION

AP-ECV is a potential imaging biomarker for T2DM microangiopathy, offering a valuable noninvasive diagnostic tool benefitting early management in T2DM patients.