title: Hepatic filling rate of a microbubble agent: a novel predictor of long-term outcomes in patients with cirrhosis.
abstract: The aim of the study described here was to evaluate the significance of the hepatic filling rate of a perflubutane microbubble agent in predicting long-term outcomes and prognoses in 32 patients with cirrhosis (37-76 y, 20 females, Child-Pugh A16, B16). The time from delivery of the contrast agent to the hepatic artery to maximum enhancement of the liver parenchyma on the sonogram was defined as the hepatic filling rate (mean = 18.6 s). Hepatic filling rate did not correlate significantly with the Child-Pugh score or the model for end-stage liver disease score. However, the survival rate was lower (93.3% at 1 y, 60.2% at 3 y) and the rate of occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) was higher (13.3% at 1 y, 33.3% at 3 y) in the group with the slow filling rate (≥18 s) than in the group with the rapid filling rate (<18 s) (93.3% at 1 and 3 y for survival, 6.3% at 1 and 3 y for HCC occurrence). Hepatic filling rate may constitute a non-invasive marker for the occurrence of HCC and prognosis of cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sekimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan. Electronic address: maru-cib@umin.ac.jp.
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Maruyama
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Soichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kiyono
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimada
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ishibashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Masanori
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Nephrology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Osamu
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Yokosuka
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Frontier Medical Engineering, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamaguchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003287:Contrast Media / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005260:Female; D005466:Fluorocarbons / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006499:Hepatic Artery / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D045423:Microbubbles; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D015996:Survival Rate; D014463:Ultrasonography
chemical_list: D003287:Contrast Media; D005466:Fluorocarbons; C108042:perfluorobutane
keywords: Cirrhosis; Contrast-enhanced ultrasound; Hepatocellular carcinoma; Long-term survival; Portal hypertension