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Usefulness of 3D balanced turbo-field-echo MR sequence evaluating the branching pattern of the intrahepatic bile ducts: comparison with drip infusion CT cholangiography

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Abstract

Purpose

For liver surgery, it is crucial to preoperatively examine the course of the right posterior bile duct. While MR cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) can only visualize the bile ducts, 3D balanced turbo-field-echo (BTFE) sequence clearly depicts the bile ducts and portal veins as well as drip infusion CT cholangiography (DIC-CT), without contrast media. We evaluated whether BTFE could substitute for DIC-CT.

Materials and methods

Thirty patients undergoing MRCP and BTFE on 1.5-T MR and DIC-CT were evaluated. Two readers retrospectively evaluated the branching pattern (supra-type: A–C or infra-type: D–E) and scored the degree of confidence and motion artifacts using a 3-point scale for the three 2-mm-thick reconstructed images.

Results

The bile duct diameter did not differ between DIC-CT and MRCP (p = 0.07). Five patients (17%) had intrahepatic biliary dilatation (>3 mm). The A, B, C, D, and E types were diagnosed in 21, 6, 1, 1, and 1 patient, respectively (28 supra-types and 2 infra-types) on DIC-CT. For DIC-CT, MRCP, and BTFE, the mean motion artifact scores were 3.0/3.0, 2.7/2.6, and 2.9/2.8, respectively. The mean diagnostic confidence scores were 2.9/2.9, 2.4/2.4, and 2.9/2.8, respectively, with no difference between DIC-CT and BTFE. The concordance between DIC-CT and BTFE was high (infra- or supra-type: κ = 1.00/1.00, A–E: κ = 0.86/0.66), but it was poor between DIC-CT and MRCP (infra- or supra-type: κ = 0.35/−0.05, A–E: κ = 0.33/0.41) for both readers.

Conclusions

Similar to DIC-CT, the BTFE MR sequence had high diagnostic accuracy regarding the branching pattern of the intrahepatic bile duct, especially for the supra/infraportal type.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1, Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan

    Masaki Ogawa, Yoshiyuki Ozawa, Kengo Ohta, Tomoya Sekiguchi, Shingo Omata, Misugi Urano & Yuta Shibamoto

  2. Department of Gastroenterological Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1, Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, 467-8601, Japan

    Yoichi Matsuo

Authors
  1. Masaki Ogawa
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  2. Yoshiyuki Ozawa
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  3. Kengo Ohta
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  4. Tomoya Sekiguchi
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  5. Shingo Omata
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  6. Misugi Urano
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  7. Yoichi Matsuo
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  8. Yuta Shibamoto
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Masaki Ogawa.

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No funding was received for this study.

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The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. For this type of study formal consent is not required.

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Statement of informed consent was not applicable since the manuscript does not contain any patient data.

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Ogawa, M., Ozawa, Y., Ohta, K. et al. Usefulness of 3D balanced turbo-field-echo MR sequence evaluating the branching pattern of the intrahepatic bile ducts: comparison with drip infusion CT cholangiography. Abdom Radiol 42, 1888–1895 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-017-1093-8

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