Value of Abdominal Susceptibility-Weighted Magnetic Resonance Imaging for Quantitative Assessment of Hepatic Iron Deposition in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B: Comparison with Serum Iron Markers

OBJECTIVE: To assess hepatic iron deposition quantitatively in patients with chronic hepatitis B (HBV) infection, using abdominal susceptibility-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (SWI). METHODS: Patients with HBV infection and healthy controls underwent abdominal SWI and were assessed for serum iron markers. Phase values were measured and five grades of hepatic iron deposition were described by SWI. RESULTS: Patients with HBV infection ( n = 327) and healthy controls ( n = 50) were prospectively enrolled. In total, 77 (25.4%) patients with HBV infection had hepatic iron deposition as determined by SWI. Phase values were significantly different between patients with hepatic iron deposition compared with patients without hepatic iron deposition or controls, and were significantly different across different grades of hepatic iron deposition. Serum iron, ferritin, transferrin and transferrin saturation were significantly higher in patients with, versus those without, hepatic iron deposition. Only serum ferritin was significantly different across different grades of hepatic iron deposition, and there was a low inverse correlation between serum ferritin and phase values. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with serum iron markers, abdominal SWI may represent a powerful tool to assess hepatic iron deposition quantitatively in patients with chronic HBV infection.