Usefulness of Gadolinium Ethoxybenzyl Diethylenetriamine Pentaacetic Acid–Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging for the Evaluation of Hepatic Functional Reserve

To determine the usefulness of the enhanced rate of gadolinium ethoxybenzyl diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid–enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (EOB-MRI) during the hepatobiliary phase as a new parameter for hepatic functional reserve. We retrospectively analyzed 153 patients who underwent EOB-MRI before radiofrequency ablation or hepatic resection between January 2008 and December 2012. The enhanced rate during the hepatobiliary phase was estimated using the ratio of regions of interest in the liver parenchyma to that in the paraspinal muscles. The enhanced rate was examined along with liver function tests and fibrosis levels for any correlations. A high correlation was found between the enhanced rate and indocyanine green retention rate at 15 minutes (r = −0.66, P < 0.0001). Additionally, a moderate correlation was discovered between the enhanced rate and serum albumin (r = 0.57, P < 0.0001), and fibrosis level (r = −0.48, P < 0.0001). The enhanced rate also weakly correlated with platelet count (r = 0.28, P = 0.0005), aspartate aminotransferase (r = −0.37, P < 0.0001), total bilirubin (r = −0.26, P = 0.0014), and prothrombin activity (r = 0.27, P = 0.0014). The EOB-MRI–enhanced rate during the hepatobiliary phase strongly correlates with hepatic functional reserve.