Aim: To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) in detecting biliary strictures in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) patients.
Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 104 adult LDLT recipients of the right hepatic lobe with duct-to-duct anastomosis, who underwent HBS and cholangiography. The HBS results were categorized as normal, parenchymal dysfunction, biliary obstruction, or bile leakage without re-interpretation. The presence of biliary strictures was determined by percutaneous cholangiography or endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP).
Results: In 89 patients with biliary strictures, HBS showed biliary obstruction in 50 and no obstruction in 39, for a sensitivity of 56.2%. Of 15 patients with no biliary strictures, HBS showed no obstruction in 11, for a specificity of 73.3%. The positive predictive value (PPV) was 92.6% (50/54) and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 22% (11/50). We also analyzed the diagnostic accuracy of the change in bile duct size. The sensitivity, NPV, specificity, and PPV were 65.2%, 27.9%, 80% and 95%, respectively.
Conclusion: The absence of biliary obstruction on HBS is not reliable. Thus, when post-LDLT biliary strictures are suspected, early ERCP may be considered.
Keywords: Biliary stricture; Hepatobiliary scintigraphy; Living donor liver transplantation; Radionucleotide imaging; Tc99m mebrofenin.