Correlating liver stiffness and splenic stiffness values in patients with chronic liver diseases using Magnetic Resonance Elastography

Abstract

Magnetic Resonance Elastography (MRE) is a non-invasive Magnetic Resonance technique for measuring the stiffness of soft tissues, and several studies have shown that MRE accurately detect liver fibrosis [1][2][3][4]. In this study, data from 62 cases with different stages of liver fibrosis (histopathological examination and staged according to METAVIR [5] scoring system) were used. The stiffness values of liver and spleen (in kPa) were measured by placing circular regions of Interests (ROI's) in the software generated stiffness maps in the anatomical regions of liver and spleen respectively. The values were tabulated and correlation and regression analysis performed. Results show a Pearson correlation coefficient (r) value of 0.59 (P<0.0001) between the stiffness values of liver and spleen. The corresponding r2 value is 0.34. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient is 0.526. A simple linear regression model gives a slope of 0.7 with an intercept of 2.9 Kilopaspacls (kPa). These values suggest a moderate correlation between the stiffness values of liver and spleen.