Quantitative ultrasound attenuation imaging outperforms B-mode scoring for assessing hepatic steatosis

Accurate quantification of hepatic fat is essential for the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease; however, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve analysis is suboptimal for ordinal outcomes such as steatosis grade. This study compared the improved attenuation parameter (iATT) and the Hamaguchi score for hepatic steatosis assessment using the Obuchowski measure.

This prospective study enrolled 605 patients with chronic liver disease who underwent iATT measurement, Hamaguchi scoring, and magnetic resonance imaging-derived proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) assessment between April 2021 and March 2024. iATT was measured using the ARIETTA 850 ultrasound system, whereas the Hamaguchi score was determined through blinded assessment of standardized images for hepatorenal contrast, liver brightness, deep attenuation, and vessel blurring. MRI-PDFF served as the reference standard, with thresholds defined as S0 (<5.2%), S1 (5.2% to <11.3%), S2 (11.3% to <17.1%), and S3 (≥17.1%). Diagnostic accuracy was evaluated using the Obuchowski measure, which weights pairwise comparisons across disease stages.

Both methods showed strong correlations with MRI-PDFF (iATT: ρ=0.814; Hamaguchi score: ρ=0.799; P=0.533) and demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance. The Obuchowski measure was significantly higher for iATT than for the Hamaguchi score at S1 (0.921 vs. 0.875, P<0.001), S2 (0.931 vs. 0.892, P<0.001), and S3 (0.911 vs. 0.870, P<0.001). iATT performed significantly better in patients with body mass index (BMI) <30 kg/m², whereas the Hamaguchi score showed relatively better performance for detecting S1 steatosis in patients with obesity (BMI ≥30 kg/m²).

The Obuchowski measure demonstrated that iATT provided significantly better ordinal discriminatory performance than the Hamaguchi score for the assessment of hepatic steatosis.