Abstract
Hepatic fat fraction (HFF) can be non-invasively estimated with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) multiple echo gradient recalled echo (GRE) sequence. The aim of this study was to test different methods of sampling strategies to quantify the HFF in healthy cats during body weight gain. Twelve healthy adult male cats were examined in a 3 Tesla MRI unit. Sequences included morphological images, and multiple echo GRE sequence. Cats were scanned at the beginning of the study and twice, each 20 weeks apart during body weight gain. HFF was calculated with 5 different methods of sampling on the multiple echo GRE sequence with different number, size and position of regions of interest (ROIs) and by 2 operators. Results indicated that HFF increased with increasing body weight, and the increase was appreciated with all the 5 methods. There was overall excellent agreement (interclass correlation coefficient = 0.820 (95% confidence interval:0.775–0.856)) between the 2 operators. HFF in the left lateral hepatic lobe was lower than in the other analyzed lobes. HFF measured on large free-hand drawn ROIs was higher than HFF measured with smaller ROIs size. This study proves that different sampling methods for quantification of HFF on multiple echo GRE sequence have overall excellent repeatability and ability to appreciate increased HFF.
Highlights
Hepatic fat fraction (HFF) in feline population is variable and influenced by the nutritional status, among other factors like diabetes and prolonged fasting [1]
The lowest reliability between operators was recorded for Method 3 (M3), (ICC = 0.761; CI:0.593–0.849) still representing good agreement
Among the regions of interest (ROIs) of M3, the lowest reliability was recorded for ROI3 (ICC 0.489; CI: -0.233–0.793)
Summary
Hepatic fat fraction (HFF) in feline population is variable and influenced by the nutritional status, among other factors like diabetes and prolonged fasting [1]. Hepatic fat fraction tends to increase during body weight (BW) gain, overweight and obesity [2]. Increased HFF is present in feline hepatic lipidosis and can cause severe liver disfunction [3]. Increased HFF is difficult to be clinically quantified, and its clinical significance may be variable. Non-invasive techniques to evaluate hepatic fat content in clinical practice are usually limited to ultrasound and computer tomography, but both modalities lack specificity and allow only semiquantitative evaluation of fat content [4]. Assessment of hepatic steatosis for patients care requires diagnosis and grading of severity, and possibility of follow up
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