Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology (대한영상의학회지)

The Korean Society of Radiology (대한영상의학회)
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US Attenuation Imaging for the Evaluation and Diagnosis of Fatty Liver Disease

지방간 질환 진단을 위한 초음파 감쇠 영상 평가

  • Seung Jun Lee (Department of Radiology, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Wonkwang University Hospital) ;
  • Youe Ree Kim (Department of Radiology, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Wonkwang University Hospital) ;
  • Young Hwan Lee (Department of Radiology, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Wonkwang University Hospital) ;
  • Kwon-Ha Yoon (Department of Radiology, Wonkwang University College of Medicine, Wonkwang University Hospital)
  • 이승준 (원광대학교 의과대학 원광대학교병원 영상의학과) ;
  • 김유리 (원광대학교 의과대학 원광대학교병원 영상의학과) ;
  • 이영환 (원광대학교 의과대학 원광대학교병원 영상의학과) ;
  • 윤권하 (원광대학교 의과대학 원광대학교병원 영상의학과)
  • Received : 2022.04.17
  • Accepted : 2022.10.14
  • Published : 2023.05.01
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Abstract

Purpose This study aimed to determine whether the attenuation coefficient (AC) from attenuation imaging (ATI) was correlated with visual US assessment in patients with hepatic steatosis. Moreover, it aimed to assess whether the patient's blood chemistry results and CT attenuation were correlated with AC. Materials and Methods Patients who underwent abdominal US with ATI between April 2018 and December 2018 were included in this study. Patients with chronic liver disease or cirrhosis were excluded. The correlation between AC and other parameters, such as visual US assessment, blood chemistry results, liver attenuation, and liver-to-spleen (L/S) ratio, were analyzed. AC values according to visual US assessment grades were compared using analysis of variance. Results A total of 161 patients were included in this study. The correlation coefficient between US assessment and AC was 0.814 (p < 0.001). The mean AC values for the normal, mild, moderate, and severe grades were 0.56, 0.66, 0.74, and 0.85, respectively (p < 0.001). Alanine aminotransferase levels were significantly correlated with AC (r = 0.317, p < 0.001). The correlation coefficients between liver attenuation and AC and between L/S ratio and AC were -0.702 and -0.626, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion Visual US assessment and AC showed a strong positive correlation with the discriminative value between the groups. Computed tomography attenuation and AC showed a strong negative correlation.

목적 지방간 환자에서 초음파 감쇠영상(attenuation imaging; 이하 ATI)의 감쇠계수(attenuation coefficient; 이하 AC)와 시각적 평가 사이의 상관관계 여부를 파악하고 혈액화학 및 CT 감쇠계수와 AC 사이의 상관관계 여부를 평가하고자 하였다. 대상과 방법 본 후향적 연구에서는 2018년 4월부터 12월까지 ATI를 포함한 간초음파를 시행 받은 환자들 중 만성 간질환 및 간경화증을 제외한 환자들을 대상으로 하였다. AC와 초음파 시각적 평가, 혈액화학, 간 감쇠 및 간 대 비장 비율(liver to spleen ratio; 이하 L/S ratio) 사이의 상관관계를 분석하였다. 분산 분석을 통해 초음파 시각적 등급에 따른 AC 값을 비교하였다. 결과 총 161명의 환자가 포함되었다. 초음파 시각적 평가와 AC 사이의 상관 계수는 0.814였다(p < 0.001). 정상, 경도, 중등도, 고도 지방간의 AC 평균값은 각각 0.56, 0.66, 0.74, 0.85였다(p < 0.001). 알라닌 아미노전이효소는 AC와 유의한 상관관계가 있었다(r = 0.317, p < 0.001). 간 감쇠계수 및 L/S ratio와 AC 사이의 상관계수는 각각 -0.702 와 -0.626이었다(p < 0.001). 결론 초음파 시각적 평가와 AC는 강한 양의 상관관계 및 등급들 사이의 구별되는 AC 값을 보였고, CT 감쇠계수와 AC는 강한 음의 상관관계를 보였다.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This paper was supported by Wonkwang University in 2022.

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