The Impact of Slice Interval and Equation on the Accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Image Estimation of Quadriceps Muscle Volume in End Stage Liver Disease.
Jonathan I Quinlan, Clare Jones, Emma Bissonnette and 9 others
PMID 36189070WHAT IT FOUND
In 38 people with end stage liver disease, quadriceps MRI volume estimates were less error-prone using the truncated cone formula than the cylindrical formula.
Wider slice interval increased error, but at 4 cm error stayed under 2%.
Key findings
01Increasing the MRI slice interval increased quadriceps volume estimation error, and both equations underestimated volume.
02The truncated cone equation produced less absolute and relative error than the cylindrical equation at 3 and 4 cm slice intervals.
03Quadriceps volume estimated with the truncated cone equation at 4 cm was significantly correlated with L3 skeletal muscle index.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study included 38 patients from one hospital liver transplant waiting list clinic, so it may not represent all people with end stage liver disease. L3 skeletal muscle index analysis was available for only 30 patients. The quadriceps region analysed excluded the proximal and distal ends, so findings may not apply to whole quadriceps volume. Inter-rater reliability was checked on only eight scans. Manual segmentation remains time intensive and open to interpretation. The study reports estimation accuracy and correlation, not patient outcomes or treatment decisions.
Declared interests
The work was supported by the National Institute for Health Research Birmingham Biomedical Research Centre. The authors declared no commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that this MRI method is ready for routine clinical use in sarcopenia assessment. The study tested two mathematical ways of estimating quadriceps volume in 38 patients and did not assess patient outcomes or treatment decisions.