Efficacy of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging in the evaluation of extrahepatic cholestasis-related hepatic fibrosis

Abstract

Background/aim: To investigate the efficacy of diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) in the diagnosis and staging of fibrosis induced by experimental bile duct ligation (BDL).Materials and methods: Twenty-four rats were divided randomly into four groups: control, BDL -3 days, BDL -2 weeks, and BDL -4 weeks. DWI was performed with b-values of 100 and 500 on the rats from control group at day zero, on the rats from the BDL -3 days group at the end of day 3, on the rats from the BDL -2 weeks group at the end of day 14, and on the rats from the BDL -4 weeks at the end of day 28.Results: When fibrosis scores generated in all groups were evaluated together, a strong negative correlation was detected between fibrosis scores and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values measured using b 100 and b 500. ADC values obtained using b 100 were found to be significantly higher compared to the fibrosis observed in both the BDL -2 weeks and BDL -4 weeks groups (P < 0.003 and P < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion:We think that DWI may be an alternative to liver biopsy for the diagnosis and staging of hepatic fibrosis with underlying extrahepatic cholestasis.

Magnetic Resonance Elastography and Diffusion Weighted Imaging in the Evaluation of Hepatic Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B

“…Liver fibrosis by increasing barriers and associated reduction in vascularity leads to reduced ADC values. Studies have demonstrated that DWI is an accurate technique for detection of fibrosis11,12 while other studies have shown poor performance of DWI 13,14. However, there is no established standard technique for performing DWI for staging liver fibrosis and optimal b-values remain unknown.…”