Background
Hepatic volume measurement provides useful information in a large range of clinical situations.
Aims
The goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that significant correlation exists between hepatic volume calculated using three-dimensional reconstruction of computed tomography (CT) data and hepatic height calculated using coronal reformation of CT images in European adult patients without liver disease.
Methods
One hundred patients (50 men, 50 women; mean age, 47 years) without hepatic disease were included. Coronal and three-dimensional images of the liver were obtained using 64-section helical CT. Correlation between hepatic height and hepatic volume was searched for using the Pearson correlation test. Regression analysis was used to compare hepatic height and hepatic volume.
Results
A strong and highly significant positive correlation was found between hepatic height and hepatic volume, with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.767 (95%CI 0.672–0.837; r 2 = 0.588) (P < 0.001). The equation of the correlation line was y = 11.764x − 244 where y represents the hepatic volume in cm3 and x the hepatic height in mm.
Conclusion
Hepatic height as obtained on coronal CT image is a simple and rapid measurement that allows predicting hepatic volume in European adult patients without liver disease.