Does gadoxetate disodium affect MRE measurements in the delayed hepatobiliary phase?

OBJECTIVES: To assess if the administration of gadoxetate disodium (Gd-EOB-DTPA) significantly affects hepatic magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) measurements in the delayed hepatobiliary phase (DHBP). METHODS: A total of 47 patients (15 females, 32 males; age range 23–78 years, mean 54.28 years) were assigned to standard hepatic magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with application of Gd-EOB-DTPA and hepatic MRE. MRE was performed before injection of Gd-EOB-DTPA and after 40–50 min in the DHBP. Liver stiffness values were obtained before and after contrast media application and differences between pre- and post-Gd-EOB-DTPA values were evaluated using a Bland-Altman plot and the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test. In addition, the data were compared with regard to the resulting fibrosis classification. RESULTS: Mean hepatic stiffness for pre-Gd-EOB-DTPA measurements was 4.01 kPa and post-Gd-EOB-DTPA measurements yielded 3.95 kPa. We found a highly significant individual correlation between pre- and post-Gd-EOB-DTPA stiffness values (Pearson correlation coefficient of r = 0.95 (p < 0.001) with no significant difference between the two measurements (p =0.49)). Bland-Altman plot did not show a systematic effect for the difference between pre- and post-stiffness measurements (mean difference: 0.06 kPa, SD 0.81). Regarding the classification of fibrosis stages, the overall agreement was 87.23% and the intraclass correlation coefficient was 96.4%, indicating excellent agreement. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of Gd-EOB-DTPA does not significantly influence MRE stiffness measurements of the liver in the DHBP. Therefore, MRE can be performed in the DHBP. KEY POINTS: • MRE of the liver can reliably be performed in the delayed hepatobiliary phase. • Gd-EOB-DTPA does not significantly influence MRE stiffness measurements of the liver. • MRE performed in the delayed hepatobiliary-phase is reasonable in patients with reduced liver function.