Gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI in primary sclerosing cholangitis: added value in assessing liver function and monitoring disease progression

PURPOSE: To investigate the added value of gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI in monitoring liver function and disease progression in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). METHODS: We retrospectively identified 104 consecutive patients (75 males; mean age 41.98 ± 12.5 years) with confirmed diagnosis of PSC who underwent 227 gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI examinations between January 2008 and May 2019. Relative enhancement (RE) of the liver was correlated with the results of liver function tests (LFTs), scoring models (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score, Mayo Risk Score (MRS), Amsterdam-Oxford model (AOM)), and qualitative MRI findings. In addition, results were analyzed separately for excretory MRI examinations (n = 164) and nonexcretory examinations (n = 63) depending on excretion of gadoxetic acid into the common bile duct in the hepatobiliary phase (HBP). RESULTS: There was a significant correlation of RE with MRS (r = − 0.652), MELD score (r = − 0.474), AOM (r = − 0.468), and LFTs (P < 0.001). RE and albumin were significantly higher in the excretory group whereas scoring models, bilirubin, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and international normalized ratio were lower (P < 0.001). RE was lower in segments with absent HBP gadoxetic acid excretion into dilated bile ducts, reduced HBP parenchymal enhancement, atrophy, T2 hyperintensity, and bile duct abnormalities (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Relative enhancement of the liver in gadoxetic acid-enhanced MRI can be used to evaluate global and regional liver function and monitor disease progression in patients with PSC. Hepatobiliary phase gadoxetic acid biliary excretion appears to be a reproducible qualitative parameter for evaluating disease severity that can be easily integrated into routine clinical practice. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1007/s00261-020-02731-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.