Diagnostic value of MRI-PDFF for hepatic steatosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a meta-analysis
Abstract
Objective To systematically review studies about the diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF) in the classification of hepatic steatosis grade in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).Methods Areas under the summary receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC), sensitivity, specificity, overall diagnostic odds ratio (DOR), diagnostic score, positive likelihood ratio (+LR), and negative likelihood ratio (-LR) for MRI-PDFF in classification of steatosis grades 0 vs. 1-3, 0-1 vs. 2-3, and 0-2 vs. 3 were compared and analyzed.Results A total of 6 studies were included in this meta-analysis (n = 635). The summary AUROC values of MRI-PDFF for classifying steatosis grades 0 vs. 1-3, 0-1 vs. 2-3, and 0-2 vs. 3 were 0.98, 0.91, and 0.90, respectively. Pooled sensitivity and specificity of MRI-PDFF for classifying steatosis grades 0 vs. 1-3, 0-1 vs. 2-3, and 0-2 vs. 3 were 0.93 and 0.94, 0.74 and 0.90, and 0.74 and 0.87, respectively. Summary +LR and -LR of MRI-PDFF for classifying steatosis grades 0 vs. 1-3, 0-1 vs. 2-3, and 0-2 vs. 3 were 16.21 (95%CI, 4.72-55.67) and 0.08 (95%CI, 0.04-0.15), 7.19 (95%CI, 5.04-10.26) and 0.29 (95%CI, 0.22-0.38), and 5.89 (95%CI, 4.27-8.13) and 0.29 (95%CI, 0.21-0.41), respectively.Conclusions Our meta-analysis suggests that MRI-PDFF has excellent diagnostic value for assessment of hepatic fat content and classification of histologic steatosis in patients with NAFLD.Key points • MRI-PDFF has significant diagnostic value for hepatic steatosis in patients with NAFLD. • MRI-PDFF may be used to classify grade of hepatic steatosis with high sensitivity and specificity.
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MRI can be used to quantify the triglyceride content (usually expressed as proton density fat fraction [PDFF]) in the liver and is the non-invasive gold standard for hepatic lipid quantification in MASLD.
“MRI can be used to quantify the triglyceride content (usually expressed as proton density fat fraction [PDFF]) in the liver and is the non-invasive gold standard for hepatic lipid quanti fi cation in MASLD.”
From EASL-EASD-EASO Clinical Practice Guidelines on the management of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). (2024) · cites this paper as [163]
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- Authors
- Gu, J., Liu, S., Du, S., Zhang, Q., Xiao, J., Dong, Q., & Xin, Y.
- Affiliations
- Qingdao University (CN)
- Qingdao Municipal Hospital (CN)
- Corresponding author
- Xin, Yongning
- Venue
- European Radiology
- Published
- 2019-03-21
- Volume
- 29
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 3564-3573
- ISSN
- 0938-7994 (ISSN-L)
- 1432-1084
- OpenAlex
- W2923244196
- Cited by
- 276
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 33 · 2025: 53 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 44 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 5
- FWCI
- 3.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- European Radiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China (31770837)
- Qingdao, Shinan District Science and Technology Development Project Fund (2016-3-016-YY)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Liver Disease Diagnosis and Treatment
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced MRI Techniques and Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Hepatology › Hepatocellular Carcinoma Treatment and Prognosis
- Keywords
- MRI-PDFF, hepatic steatosis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diagnostic accuracy, hepatic fat content, magnetic resonance imaging, non-invasive diagnosis, liver biopsy comparison, diagnostic odds ratio, likelihood ratios, sensitivity and specificity, area under the receiver operating characteristic
- MeSH terms
- Adipose Tissue, Fatty Liver, Humans, Liver, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, ROC Curve, Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
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