%0 Consensus Development Conference
%T ESGAR consensus statement on liver MR imaging and clinical use of liver-specific contrast agents.
%A Neri E
%A Bali MA
%A Ba-Ssalamah A
%A Boraschi P
%A Brancatelli G
%A Alves FC
%A Grazioli L
%A Helmberger T
%A Lee JM
%A Manfredi R
%A Martì-Bonmatì L
%A Matos C
%A Merkle EM
%A Op De Beeck B
%A Schima W
%A Skehan S
%A Vilgrain V
%A Zech C
%A Bartolozzi C
%J Eur Radiol
%V 26
%N 4
%D Apr 2016
%M 26194455
%F 7.034
%R 10.1007/s00330-015-3900-3
%X OBJECTIVE: To develop a consensus and provide updated recommendations on liver MR imaging and the clinical use of liver-specific contrast agents.
METHODS: The European Society of Gastrointestinal and Abdominal Radiology (ESGAR) formed a multinational European panel of experts, selected on the basis of a literature review and their leadership in the field of liver MR imaging. A modified Delphi process was adopted to draft a list of statements. Descriptive and Cronbach's statistics were used to rate levels of agreement and internal reliability of the consensus.
RESULTS: Three Delphi rounds were conducted and 76 statements composed on MR technique (n = 17), clinical application of liver-specific contrast agents in benign, focal liver lesions (n = 7), malignant liver lesions in non-cirrhotic (n = 9) and in cirrhotic patients (n = 18), diffuse and vascular liver diseases (n = 12), and bile ducts (n = 13). The overall mean score of agreement was 4.84 (SD ±0.17). Full consensus was reached in 22 % of all statements in all working groups, with no full consensus reached on diffuse and vascular diseases.
CONCLUSIONS: The consensus provided updated recommendations on the methodology, and clinical indications, of MRI with liver specific contrast agents in the study of liver diseases.
CONCLUSIONS: • Liver-specific contrast agents are recommended in MRI of the liver. • The hepatobiliary phase improves the detection and characterization of hepatocellular lesions. • Liver-specific contrast agents can improve the detection of HCC.