Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32535737›Full record

ArticleEuropean radiology2020

Evaluation of liver iron overload with R2* relaxometry with versus without fat suppression: both are clinically accurate but there are differences.

M Plaikner, C Kremser, H Zoller, W Jaschke, M Steurer, A Viveiros, B Henninger

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Article in European radiology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

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3citing papers in PubMed
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3 citing papers in PubMed.

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

M PlaiknerDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
C KremserDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria. christian.kremser@i-med.ac.at.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6953-935X
H ZollerDepartment of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, Innsbruck, Austria.
W JaschkeDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
M SteurerDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.
A ViveirosDepartment of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, Innsbruck, Austria.
B HenningerDepartment of Radiology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstraße 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo assess clinically relevant difference in hepatic iron quantification using R2* relaxometry with (FS) and without (non-FS) fat saturation for the evaluation of patients with suspected hepatic iron overload.

methodsWe prospectively enrolled 134 patients who underwent 1.5-T MRI R2* relaxometry with FS and non-FS gradient echo sequences (12 echoes, initial TE = 0.99 ms). Proton density fat fraction for the quantification of steatosis was assessed. Linear regression analyses and Bland-Altman plots including Lin's concordance correlation coefficient were performed for correlation of FS R2* with non-FS R2*. Patients were grouped into 4 severity classes of iron overload (EASL based), and agreement was evaluated by contingency tables and the proportion of overall agreement.

resultsA total of 41.8% of patients showed hepatic iron overload; 67.9% had concomitant steatosis; and 58.2% revealed no iron overload of whom 60.3% had steatosis. The mean R2* value for all FS data was 102.86 1/s, for non-FS 108.16 1/s. Linear regression resulted in an R-squared value of 0.99 (p < 0.001); Bland-Altman plot showed a mean R2* difference of 5.26 1/s (SD 17.82). The concordance correlation coefficient was only slightly lower for patients with steatosis compared with non-steatosis (0.988 vs. 0.993). The overall agreement between FS and non-FS R2* measurements was 94.8% using either method to classify patients according to severity of iron storage. No correlation between R2* and proton density fat fraction was found for both methods.

conclusionR2* relaxometry showed an excellent overall agreement between FS and non-FS acquisition. Both variants can therefore be used in daily routine. However, clinically relevant differences might result when switching between the two methods or during patient follow-up, when fat content changes over time. We therefore recommend choosing a method and keeping it straight in the context of follow-up examinations. KEY POINTS: • Both variants of R2* relaxometry (FS and non-FS) may be used in daily routine. • Clinically relevant differences might result when switching between the two methods or during patient follow-up, when fat content changes over time. • It seems advisable choosing one method and keeping it straight in the context of follow-up examinations.

Indexed as

AdultAgedAged, 80 and overFatty LiverFemaleHumansIronIron OverloadLiverMagnetic Resonance ImagingMaleMiddle AgedReproducibility of ResultsYoung AdultIronFatty liverIronLiverMagnetic resonance imaging

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.