Clinical Efficacy of Spectral Computed Tomography for Evaluating Liver Function in Patients with Budd-Chiari Syndrome

Abstract

Rationale and objectives: To analyze the clinical relevance of quantitative spectral parameters in evaluating the treatment of patients with Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) with different classes of liver function by comparing normalized iodine concentration (NIC) before and after BCS treatment.

Materials and methods: Angiographic data were obtained from 41 patients with confirmed BCS between December 2015 and March 2017. All patients underwent spectral computed tomography (CT) before and after BCS treatment; the average interval between scans was 2-4 months. Iodine concentration and NIC were measured and calculated during the portal venous phase in liver segments I-VIII. Clinical liver function parameters including prothrombin time (PT), albumin (ALB), total bilirubin (TBIL), aspartate aminotransferase, and alanineaminotransferase were recorded. Liver function was classified according to the Child-Pugh grading standard (before treatment). Liver NIC and liver function-related parameters before and after treatment were compared using the paired t-test; Pearson correlation analysiswas performed to analyze the aforementioned parameters among different liver function classes before BCS treatment. p < 0.05 was to be statistically considered significant.

Results: PT and TBIL were negatively correlated with liver NIC (p < 0.05), whereas ALB and liver NIC exhibited a positive correlation (p < 0.05). Comparison of NIC before and after treatment revealed that NIC in liver segments I-VIII was higher after treatment. The p values for segments II-VIII were 0.041, 0.046, 0.041, 0.038, 0.039, 0.042, and 0.040, respectively; the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The increase in NIC in liver segments I-VIII before and after treatment was more significant in patients with class C liver function than in their class B and A counterparts. Comparison of liver function-related parameters revealed that PT was shortened after treatment; ALB levels were increased; and TBIL, alanine aminotransferase, and aspartate aminotransferase levels were decreased.

Conclusion: NIC determined through spectral CT was beneficial for evaluating liver function in patients with BCS, and can provide imaging data for reexamination, prognostic evaluation, and follow-up of patients with BCS after treatment. Liver parenchyma NIC values in BCS patients with varying liver function may provide a degree of diagnostic value. Multi-locus and multi-parameter studies of spectral CT can help to further evaluate liver function and assess prognosis in patients with BCS.

Keywords: Angiography; Budd–Chiari syndrome; Low dose; Spectral imaging; Tomography.