[Non-contrast-Enhanced MR angiography for selective evaluation of the hepatic portal vein]

This study was aimed to compare and evaluate the diagnostic performance of non-contrast-enhanced MR angiography (NCE-MRA) with contrast-enhanced MR angiography (CE-MRA) in the anatomic assessment of hepatic portal vein. Thirty people, ten patients with hepatic cirrhosis without ascites and twenty normal physical examination donors as control group were included in the NCE-MRA and CE-MRA with the same 1.5T MR scanner. Anatomic angiographic images were reconstructed and their datasets available for analysis independently performed by two radiologists. Assessment of data quality of hepatic portal vein vessels was rated with a four-point scale. After consensus reading, a total 27 images (90%) scored more than 3 point were observed in NCE-MRA and 28 (93.3%) in CE-MRA, respectively. Segmental branch vessels were visualized on MR angiography in the majority of cases. Both NCE-MRA and CE-MRA correctly characterized the hepatic portal veins with grade 5 and without false positive cases. Only 4 false negatives with grade 6 were missed in NCE-MRA group. There were no statistically significant differences between NCE-MRA and CE-MRA for characterization of hepatic vasculature (P < 0.05). Kappa value was larger than 0.75 for both reviewers. A conclusion could be drawn that NCE-MRA is a non-invasive and effective method that provides a comprehensive assessment of the hepatic portal vein.