| Sumario: | Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between HeF obtained from gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging and clinical biomarkers for the assessment of liver function. Methods: This prospective study was approved by our Institutional Review Board, and written informed consent was obtained from the patients. We recruited 48 patients carrying a known or suspected liver disease to undergo gadoxetic acid-enhanced MR imaging. The new model of the HeF was calculated from ΔR1 values of the liver and spleen. The HeF, quantitative liver-to-spleen contrast ratio (Q-LSC), and ΔT1 value (the reduction rate of the T1 value between the pre- and post-contrast images) were compared with the Child–Pugh and end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores. Results: Among 48 patients, 40 were in Child–Pugh class A and 8 were in class B. The median HeF (P = 0.0001), Q-LSC (P = 0.015), and ΔT1 value (P = 0.0023) in patients in Child–Pugh class A were significantly higher than those in class B. The sensitivities, specificities, and area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curves for differentiating Child–Pugh class A and B were 95.0%, 87.5%, and 0.93 in the HeF; 77.5%, 75.0%, and 0.78 in the Q-LSC; and 57.5%, 100.0%, and 0.84 in the ΔT1 value, respectively. The HeF was significantly correlated with Child–Pugh (r = − 0.58, P < 0.0001) and MELD score (r = − 0.57, P < 0.0001). Conclusions: The HeF was well correlated with Child–Pugh and MELD score and could be a new biomarker to assess liver function.
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