Comparison between CT perfusion and indocyanine green retention test results in the assessment of hepatic function

Purpose: To assess the reliability of perfusion CT for the estimation of liver function in patients scheduled for hepatic resection, comparing these results with those obtained with the indocyanine green retention. Material and Methods: 31 patients with hepato-biliary malignancies (13/31 hepatocarcinomas; 5/31 peripheral cholangiocarcinomas; 12/31 hilar cholangiocarcinomas; 1/31 colonic adenocarcinoma metastases), scheduled for liver resection, were prospectively included in this study. In all cases, a pre- operative perfusional CT and the indocyanine green retention test were performed. The results were compared using Pearson's correlation test. Results: The comparison between single arterial input time to peak values and indocyanine green retention values at 15 min (ICGR15) and plasma disappearance rate (PDR) showed high correlation (R=0.84 and -0.80); the comparison between single portal input time to peak values, ICGR15 and PDR showed high correlation (R=0.88 and -0.83). Conclusion: Perfusion CT may be a method to estimate liver function. Time to peak values obtained with single input analysis had shown good correlation with IGR15 and PDR values.