Evaluation Of MSCT Measurement Of The Liver Volume And Its Clinical Value

Objective: To evaluate the accuracy and value of MSCT measurement for determining the total and lobar volumes of the liver. Methods: 39 patients underwent hepatic volume measurement with MSCT. They were divided into three groups. 13 cases with hepatic cirrhosis included in group Ⅰ , and 5 of them received orthotopic liver transplantation; 13 cases with right lobe tumor in the group Ⅱ underwent right hepatectomy (10cases),liver segment resection(2cases) and trans-arterial chemoembolization(lcases), respectively; Group Ⅲ consisted of 13 adults for comparison. Imaging acquired during 60s delayed portal venous phase were adapted for volumetric determination. Measurement of hand tracing and threshold were used to calculate the total liver volume and of the right lobe, respectively. Results: The mean volume of the entire liver and right lobe was 1269 ± 345ml and 726± 199ml, respectively , for the hand tracing method; while 1250 ±346ml and 713 ±198ml, respectively , for the method of threshold .There was no significant statistically difference between the two methods in measuring total or lobar liver volumes (p>0.05). There was significant agreement between right lobe volumes measured by each methods and actual right lobe volumes obtained in 10 cases at surgery (r=0.9642,0.9847, p<0.01). The mean volume of the group Ⅰ and Ⅲ was 1327. 8ml±233ml and 1078ml ± 168ml, respectively. There wassignificant statistically difference between them. The liver volume of those s uffered from hepatic cirrhosis shrunk nearly 18% than that of normal ones. Conclusion: MSCT can provide accurate information in the measurement of the entire and lobar liver volume, it is reliable in clinical practice.