To evaluate hepatobiliary imaging indexes in predicting liver function in patients with portal hypertension due to post-hepatitis B cirrhosis.

Clinical data of 429 patients with portal hypertension due to post-hepatitis B cirrhosis admitted to the Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from January 2012 to December 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 382 patients were male and 47 female, aged (52±11) years on average. The informed consents of all patients were obtained and the local ethical committee approval was received. The thickness of gallbladder wall, the cross-sectional area of gallbladder, cross-sectional area of spleen and thickness of right liver lobe were quantitatively measured by CT scan or MRI. Liver function was evaluated by Child-Pugh score and ICGR15. Child-Pugh prediction model was established by multivariate linear regression analysis, and evaluated by R² and root-mean-square error (RMSE). ICGR15 prediction model was established by Logistic regression analysis and evaluated by the ROC curve.

The thickness of gallbladder wall and the ratio of cross-sectional area of gallbladder to thickness of right liver lobe were related to the Child-Pugh score. The equation of prediction model: Child-Pugh score=4.841+0.177X₁+0.175X₂, X₁ is the thickness of gallbladder wall, X₂ is the ratio of cross-sectional area of gallbladder to thickness of right liver lobe. The R² value was 0.600 2 and RMSE was 0.539. The thickness of right liver lobe, thickness of gallbladder wall, and cross-sectional area of spleen were related to ICGR15. The prediction model: , X₁ is thickness of right liver lobe, X₂ is thickness of gallbladder wall and X₃ is cross-sectional area of spleen. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) of the prediction model was 0.814, and the sensitivity was 0.86 and the specificity was 0.63.

As non-invasive indexes, hepatobiliary imaging indexes can relatively accurately predict the liver function of patients with portal hypertension due to post-hepatitis B cirrhosis.