Hepatic hemangioma with arterioportal shunt: Prevalence and lesion characteristics based on DSA, CT and MR imaging

To evaluate the prevalence and lesion characteristics of hepatic hemangioma (HH) with arterioportal shunt (APS) based on digital subtraction angiography (DSA), computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging.

Ninety-eight consecutive patients with 189 HHs who underwent DSA, CT and/or MR imaging of the liver between January 2014 and December 2017 were included. The diagnosis of APS was established by DSA. APS was categorized as peripheral and central shunt based on imaging findings. The incidence and appearance of APS on DSA were compared with those on CT/MR images. Eleven possible lesion characteristics associated with APS were compared between HHs with and those without APS. Multiple logistic regression modeling was used to identify the independent lesion characteristics associated with APS.

APS was diagnosed in 103 (103/189, 54.5%) HHs on DSA, of which 96 lesions appeared as peripheral APS and 7 appeared as central. In contrast, APS was detected only in 57 HHs (57/103, 55.34%) on CT/MR imaging, of which 50 (50/96, 52.08%) appeared as peripheral APS while 7 (7/7, 100%) appeared as central. Lesion size (P <  .001), enhancement rapidity (P =  .031), and vascularization degree (P <  .001) were found to be significant independent imaging characteristics associated with APS.

APS can occur in HH with high frequency. DSA was superior to CT/MR imaging in detection of APS, particularly for the peripheral APS. Lesion size, enhancement rapidity and vascularization degree were associated with the presence of APS.