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Multidetector computed tomography for preoperative assessment of hepatic vasculature and prediction of splenic artery steal syndrome in patients with liver cirrhosis before transplantation

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of MDCT for preoperative assessment of hepatic vascular anatomy and the identification of liver-transplantation (OLT) patients at risk of developing subsequent splenic artery steal syndrome (SASS). A total of 145 patients with liver cirrhosis who had undergone OLT and had pre-operative three-phase MDCT (4- to 64-rows) within 100 days before OLT were enrolled retrospectively. MDCT and 3Ds were reviewed by two independent blinded observers (O1/O2). Pre-operative imaging findings were correlated with intra-operative results; findings indicative for SASS were correlated with clinical data and DSA. Among all 145 patients, 16 patients (11%) showed accessory hepatic arteries (accuracy O1/O2, 97%; with 3Ds, 100%); 32 (22%) patients had replaced hepatic arteries (accuracy O1, 97%; O2, 95%; with 3Ds, 100%; κ = 0.87 and 0.89, P < 0.001). Among 119 patients, 12 patients developed SASS after OLT. The logistic regression model revealed the spleen volume (P = 0.0105) as a predictive factor of SASS. With spleen volumes ≥829 ml, an accuracy of 75% for prediction of SASS was obtained. MDCT with three-dimensional post-processing (3Ds) was highly accurate for pre-operative hepatic vessel evaluation in patients before OLT. In addition, spleen volume was a predictive factor for developing SASS after OLT.

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Correspondence to Christian Grieser.

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Grieser, C., Denecke, T., Steffen, I.G. et al. Multidetector computed tomography for preoperative assessment of hepatic vasculature and prediction of splenic artery steal syndrome in patients with liver cirrhosis before transplantation. Eur Radiol 20, 108–117 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00330-009-1535-y

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