Objective: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in detecting hepatic fibrosis and determining clinically relevant stiffness cutoff values per stage of fibrosis.
Methods: This retrospective study assessed 1488 hepatic MRE evaluations performed at a single institution for 5 years. Mean liver stiffness measurements were collected from 282 patients who had an MRE study within 1 year of histopathologic analysis. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated for each stage of fibrosis with nonparametric ordinal measures of accuracy, and Youden Index was determined.
Results: Mean liver stiffness measurement values were as follows: F0, 2.5± 0.55 kPa; F1, 3.1± 0.80 kPa; F2, 3.4±0.95 kPa; F3, 4.7±1.44 kPa; and F4, 7.9± 2.64 kPa. Nonparametric ordinal measures of accuracy per fibrosis stage were as follows: F0: 0.934, P < 0.001; F0-F1: 0.917, P < 0.001; F0-F2: 0.944, P < 0.001; and F0-F3: 0.941, P < 0.001. Youden Index values for fibrosis stages F2, F3, and F4 were 3.9, 4.0, and 4.5 kPa, respectively.
Conclusions: Magnetic resonance elastography is an accurate diagnostic tool in assessing liver fibrosis.
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