Magnetic Resonance Elastography of the Liver: A Single-Institution Review of Cases Performed in a 5-Year Interval

Objective This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in detecting hepatic fibrosis and determining clinically relevant stiffness cutoff values per stage of fibrosis. Methods This retrospective study assessed 1488 hepatic MRE evaluations performed at a single institution for 5 years. Mean liver stiffness measurements were collected from 282 patients who had an MRE study within 1 year of histopathologic analysis. Areas under receiver operating characteristic curves were calculated for each stage of fibrosis with nonparametric ordinal measures of accuracy, and Youden Index was determined. Results Mean liver stiffness measurement values were as follows: F0, 2.5± 0.55 kPa; F1, 3.1± 0.80 kPa; F2, 3.4±0.95 kPa; F3, 4.7±1.44 kPa; and F4, 7.9± 2.64 kPa. Nonparametric ordinal measures of accuracy per fibrosis stage were as follows: F0: 0.934, P < 0.001; F0-F1: 0.917, P < 0.001; F0-F2: 0.944, P < 0.001; and F0-F3: 0.941, P < 0.001. Youden Index values for fibrosis stages F2, F3, and F4 were 3.9, 4.0, and 4.5 kPa, respectively. Conclusions Magnetic resonance elastography is an accurate diagnostic tool in assessing liver fibrosis.