Hepatic iron deposition in patients with sickle cell disease: Role of breath-hold multiecho T2∗-weighted MRI sequence

IntroductionThe purpose of this study is to detect the role of breath-hold multiecho T2∗-weighted MRI, in quantification of hepatic iron deposition in patients with sickle cell disease.MethodsThirty-seven patients underwent 1.5-T MRI of the liver that included a multiecho T2∗-weighted sequence. Hepatic T2∗ iron grading was done for each patient by placing regions of interest in the hepatic parenchyma. Hepatic T2∗ values were correlated with histopathological iron grade. Liver biopsy was done for all patients. Written consent was obtained from all patients prior to MRI studies.ResultsThirty-two patients (86.5 %) had evidence of hepatic iron deposition on histopathological examination, including eight (25%) with grade 3, eleven (34%) with grade 2 and thirteen patients (41%) with grade 1.Patients with negative iron deposition histologically, had T2∗ values ranging from 28–32 ms. For the patients with positive hepatic iron deposition, hepatic T2∗ decreased with increasing iron grade.Statistical analysis showed that for differentiation of hepatic iron deposition grade 3 from grades 1 and 2, hepatic T2∗ less than 13 ms had a sensitivity and specificity of 100 % and 98%, respectively.ConclusionBreath-hold multiecho T2∗-weighted MRI sequence offers an accurate estimation of hepatic iron deposition.