Potential clinical factors affecting hepatobiliary enhancement at Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging

The objective was to clarify the clinical factors that might affect the degree of hepatic parenchymal enhancement at gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (Gd-EOB-DTPA)-enhanced magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

A total of 84 patients with (n=63) and without chronic liver disease (n=21) underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MR imaging. Contrast-enhanced MR images of hepatobiliary phase (HP) were obtained at 20 min after Gd-EOB-DTPA administration. The relative enhancement (RE) of liver parenchyma at 20 min HP was calculated from region of interest measurements at each patient. Then, these results were correlated with various clinical parameters using Pearson correlation coefficient or Spearman rank correlation coefficient. Furthermore, the predictor of the degree of hepatic parenchymal enhancement was determined using multiple regression analysis.

The presence or absence of chronic liver disease (P=.002), ascites (P=.005) and splenomegaly (P=.027), and the values of prothrombin activity (P=.008), total bilirubin (T-Bil) (P=.001), albumin (P=.001), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P=.002) and cholinesterase (P=.007) were significantly correlated with the RE of liver parenchyma at 20 min HP. Among these parameters, increases of T-Bil (P=.011 to .028) and AST (P=.018 to .049) were predictors of decreased hepatic parenchymal enhancement.

Hepatic parenchymal enhancement of Gd-EOB-DTPA was affected by various clinical parameters. Impaired hepatobiliary enhancement may be predicted by routine biochemical tests, such as T-Bil and AST.