Formula for calculating standard liver volume in Indians

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging and Diagnostics
• Anatomy and Physiology
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Accurate estimation of standard liver volume (SLV) is crucial for clinical applications, including liver transplantation and surgical planning.
• Existing SLV formulae are often derived from non-Indian populations, raising concerns about their applicability to diverse ethnic groups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the accuracy and reliability of various standard liver volume (SLV) calculation formulae in the Indian population.
• To determine if existing SLV formulae are valid for assessing liver volume in Indian individuals.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of autopsy records from 366 cadavers without liver disease to obtain actual liver weights.
• Prospective measurement of liver density in 15 livers to calculate actual liver volume (LV).
• Comparison of calculated LV with SLV estimated using multiple established formulae, including those derived from Indian, Korean, Chinese, and a general Johnson model.

Main Results:

• A liver density of 1.162 kg/L was determined for formalin-preserved livers.
• Poor agreement (low Intraclass Correlation Coefficients) was observed between actual LV and SLV estimated by all tested formulae across different populations.
• The smallest median differences between actual LV and SLV were found with Indian Models 1 and 2 (29 cc and 6 cc), but overall validity remained poor.

Conclusions:

• Current standard liver volume (SLV) formulae demonstrate poor correlation with actual liver volumes in the Indian population.
• None of the evaluated SLV formulae are considered valid for accurately assessing liver volume in Indian individuals.
• Further research is needed to develop or validate population-specific formulae for SLV estimation in India.