Anatomical criteria to measure the adult right liver lobe by ultrasound.

Abstract

This study aims to establish objective anatomical criteria to obtain accurate and reliable measurements of the right liver lobe (RLL) length by ultrasound while considering sex and anthropometry of the patient. Thirty-three (n = 33) adult participants underwent two-dimensional (2D) and panoramic (PAN) ultrasound imaging of the RLL in the anterior axillary region (AAR). Each measurement was performed in the standard oblique plane and in a tested craniocaudal (CC) plane by two independent observers. Pearson analysis was conducted to evaluate correlation between measurements and Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) for inter-rater reliability. Two-tail paired T test was used to compare groups. Statistical significance was attained at p < 0.05. The proposed craniocaudal 2D RLL length was 13.0 ± 1.5 cm for females and 14.1 ± 1.3 cm for males whereas PAN RLL size was 13.7 ± 1.8 cm for females and 15.0 ± 1.1 cm for males. A strong correlation between the proposed 2D CC measurement of the RLL length with PAN CC measurements was found (r = 0.87). Inter-rater reliability for 2D CC measurements showed high reliability (ICC 0.96). CC measurement of RLL by ultrasound in AAR is a precise and reliable measurement that may allow for the routine monitoring of RLL length across time.