Hepatic perfusion parameters of contrast-enhanced ultrasonography correlate with the severity of chronic liver...

Area of Science:

• Hepatology and diagnostic imaging.
• Utilizing advanced ultrasound techniques for liver disease assessment.

Background:

• Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis significantly alter liver perfusion.
• Current methods for assessing disease severity can be invasive.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the correlation between liver parenchyma perfusion parameters obtained via contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) and the severity of chronic liver disease.
• To evaluate a novel liver parenchyma blood supply ratio for differentiating arterial and portal phases.

Main Methods:

• CEUS examination of 12 patients with non-cirrhotic chronic liver disease, 35 with cirrhosis, and 21 healthy volunteers.
• Analysis of time-intensity curves from liver parenchyma and kidney cortex using QLAB software.
• Quantification of hepatic arterial flow intensity (I(ap)), peak perfusion intensity (I(peak)), portal venous flow intensity (I(pp)), and the ratio I(pp)/I(peak).

Main Results:

• Liver parenchyma perfusion parameters (I(pp), I(peak), I(pp)/I(peak)) significantly decreased in patients with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, while I(ap) increased.
• Strong correlations were found between I(pp), I(peak), I(pp)/I(peak), and I(ap) with chronic liver disease severity (p < 0.05).
• High diagnostic accuracy for cirrhosis was achieved with I(peak) (0.93), I(pp) (0.98), and I(pp)/I(peak) (0.98).

Conclusions:

• CEUS-derived liver parenchyma perfusion parameters are significantly correlated with the severity of chronic liver disease.
• The novel liver parenchyma blood supply ratio and other perfusion parameters show promise for non-invasive assessment and diagnosis of cirrhosis.