Measurement of liver volume using water delay ultrasonography.

Abstract

A modification of the method of Carr et al. [1976] for the ultrasonic assessment of liver volume was devised for use with a UI Octoson water delay B mode echoscope, and 32 subjects without clinical history or signs of liver disease were examined. In 9 subjects the measurements were repeated by a separate observer. Comparison of the variance between observers and that between subjects showed that the precision of the method is within acceptable limits, the variance ratio (F) being 13.7 (p less than 0.001). The mean liver volume was 1,545.4 +/- (SD) 255 ml. This finding is in close agreement with previously published data. The liver volume was correlated with body weight, height, body surface area, and body mass index. The liver volume was found to correlate best with body weight using partial correlation analysis. This was in accordance with previously published data, with the exception of that of Koischwitz [1979]. However, variations in weight could only account for 0.43 of the variation in liver volume.