Significance of the "delayed hyperintense portal vein sign" in the hepatobiliary phase MRI obtained with Gd-EOB-DTPA.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the significance of the delayed hyperintense portal vein sign in Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).


METHODS
This retrospective study was approved by the Institutional Review Board and the requirement for informed patient consent was obtained. Six-hundred and seventy patients who underwent Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI were included in the study. Two readers who were blinded to clinical records reviewed MR images in consensus. The delayed hyperintense portal vein sign was defined if the portal vein appeared more hyperintense than surrounding liver parenchyma on the 30-minute delayed hepatobiliary phase. The frequency of the delayed hyperintense portal vein sign and the association between the sign and serum biochemical tests were assessed. Multivariate analysis was performed to identify which variables were associated with the sign. Optimal cutoff values of variables for reflecting the sign were obtained with ROC analysis.


RESULTS
The delayed hyperintense portal vein sign was observed in 13.0%. In multivariate analysis, a direct bilirubin level was associated with the delayed hyperintense portal vein sign. Optimum cutoff value for reflecting the delayed hyperintense portal vein sign was 2.18 mg/dL (sensitivity, 89%; specificity, 96%).


CONCLUSIONS
The delayed hyperintense portal vein sign in Gd-EOB-DTPA-enhanced MRI can potentially be used to reflect hepatobiliary function.
Department of Radiology, Pusan National University Hospital and Medical Research Institute, #305 Gudeok-Ro, Busan, Republic of Korea.
Nam Kyung
NK
Lee
Suk
S
Kim
Gwang Ha
GH
Kim
Jeong
J
Heo
Hyung Il
HI
Seo
Tae Un
TU
Kim
Dae Hwan
DH
Kang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004066:Digestive System Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D057918:Fiducial Markers; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011169:Portal Vein / Q000473:pathology*; D015995:Prevalence; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D056910:Republic of Korea / Q000453:epidemiology; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D055815:Young Adult
C073590:gadolinium ethoxybenzyl DTPA; D019786:Gadolinium DTPA