Brain magnetic resonance imaging radiomics features associated with hepatic encephalopathy in adult cirrhotic patients

PURPOSE: Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a potential complication of cirrhosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) may demonstrate hyperintense T1 signal in the globi pallidi. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance of MRI-based radiomic features for diagnosing and grading chronic HE in adult patients affected by cirrhosis. METHODS: Adult patients with and without cirrhosis underwent brain MRI with identical imaging protocol on a 3T scanner. Patients without history of chronic liver disease were the control population. HE grading was based on underlying liver disease, severity of clinical manifestation, and number of encephalopathic episodes. Texture analysis was performed on axial T1-weighted images on bilateral lentiform nuclei at the level of the foramina of Monro. Diagnostic performance of texture analysis for the diagnosis and grading of HE was assessed by calculating the area under the receiver operating characteristics (AUROC) with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The final study population consisted of 124 patients, 70 cirrhotic patients, and 54 non-cirrhotic controls. Thirty-eight patients had history of HE with 22 having an HE grade > 1. The radiomic features predicted the presence of HE with an AUROC of 0.82 (95% CI: 0.73, 0.90; P < .0001; 82% sensitivity, 66% specificity). Radiomic features predicted grade 1 HE (AUROC 0.75; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.89; P < .0001; 94% sensitivity, 60% specificity) and grade ≥ 2 HE (AUROC 0.82; 95% CI: 0.71, 0.93; P < .0001, 95% sensitivity, 57% specificity). CONCLUSION: In cirrhotic patients, MR radiomic is effective in predicting the presence of chronic HE and in grading its severity. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00234-022-02949-2.