Abstract
Purpose
To evaluate feasibility of computer tomography texture analysis (CTTA) at different energy level using dual-energy spectral detector CT for liver fibrosis.
Materials and methods
Eighty-seven patients who underwent a spectral CT examination and had a reference standard of liver fibrosis (histopathologic findings, n = 61, or clinical findings for normal, n = 26) were included. Mean gray-level intensity, mean number of positive pixels (MPP), entropy, skewness, and kurtosis using commercially available software (TexRAD) were compared at different energy levels. Optimal CTTA parameter cutoffs to diagnose liver fibrosis were evaluated. CTTA parameters at different energy levels correlated with liver fibrosis. The association of CTTA parameters with energy level was evaluated.
Results
Mean gray-level intensity, skewness, kurtosis, and entropy showed significant differences between patients with and without clinically significant hepatic fibrosis (P < 0.05). Mean gray-level intensity at 50 keV was significantly positively correlated with liver fibrosis (ρ = 0.502, P < 0.001). To diagnose stages F2–F4, entropy and mean gray-level intensity at low keV level showed the largest area under the curve (AUC; 0.79 and 0.79). Estimated marginal means (EMMs) of mean gray-level intensity showed prominent differences at low energy levels.
Conclusion
CTTA parameters from different keV levels demonstrated meaningful accuracy for diagnosis of liver fibrosis or clinically significant hepatic fibrosis.
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This research was supported by Korea University Ansan Hospital Grant (O1801331).
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The scientific guarantor of this publication is Hwan Hoon Chung. The authors of this manuscript declare no relationships with any companies, whose products or services may be related to the subject matter of the article.
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Choi, B., Choi, I.Y., Cha, S.H. et al. Feasibility of computed tomography texture analysis of hepatic fibrosis using dual-energy spectral detector computed tomography. Jpn J Radiol 38, 1179–1189 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-020-01020-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11604-020-01020-5