Ultrasound Stratification of Hepatic Steatosis Using Hepatorenal Index

Hepatorenal index (HRI) has been shown to be an effective, noninvasive ultrasound tool to screen patients for those with or without >5% hepatic steatosis.

The aim of this study was to further refine this HRI tool in order to stratify patients according to their degree of liver steatosis and give direction as to which patients should undergo random liver biopsy.

We conducted a retrospective review of 267 consecutive patients from 2015 to 2017 who had abdominal ultrasounds and a subsequent random liver biopsy within one month. The HRI was calculated and compared with the percent steatosis as assessed by histology.

An HRI of ≤1.17 corresponds with >95% positive predictive value of ≤5% steatosis. Between HRI values 1.18 and 1.39, performance of steatosis prediction is mixed. However, for values <1.37 there is an increased likelihood of steatosis ≤5% and likewise the opposite for values >1.37. An HRI of ≥1.4 corresponds with >95% positive predictive value of ≥10% steatosis.

HRI is an accurate noninvasive tool to quantify degree of steatosis and guide who should undergo random liver biopsy, potentially significantly reducing the total number of necessary liver biopsies.