Defining intrahepatic biliary anatomy in living liver transplant donor candidates at mangafodipir trisodium-enhanced MR cholangiography versus conventional T2-weighted MR cholangiography

PURPOSE: To compare three-dimensional (3D) mangafodipir trisodium - enhanced T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) cholangiography with conventional T2-weighted MR cholangiography for depiction and definition of intrahepatic biliary anatomy in liver transplant donor candidates. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred eight healthy liver transplant donor candidates were examined with two MR cholangiographic methods. All candidates gave written informed consent, and the study was approved by the institutional review board. First, breath-hold transverse and coronal half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo and breath-hold oblique coronal heavily T2-weighted turbo spin-echo sequences were performed. Second, mangafodipir trisodium - enhanced breath-hold fat-suppressed 3D gradient-echo sequences were performed through the ducts ( oblique coronal plane) and through the entire liver ( transverse plane). Interpretation of biliary anatomy findings, particularly variants affecting right liver lobe biliary drainage, and degree of interpretation confidence at both 3D mangafodipir trisodium - enhanced MR cholangiography and T2-weighted MR cholangiography were recorded and compared by using the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Then, consensus interpretations of both MR image sets together were performed. Intraoperative cholangiography was the reference-standard examination for 51 subjects who underwent right lobe hepatectomy. The McNemar test was used to compare the accuracies of the individual MR techniques with that of the consensus interpretation of both image sets together and to compare each technique with intraoperative cholangiography. RESULTS: Biliary anatomy was visualized with mangafodipir trisodium enhancement in all patients. Mangafodipir trisodium - enhanced image findings agreed with findings seen at combined interpretations significantly more often than did T2-weighted image findings ( in 107 [99%] vs 88 [82%] of 108 donor candidates, P <.001). Confidence was significantly higher with the mangafodipir trisodium - enhanced images than with the T2-weighted images ( mean confidence score, 4.5 vs 3.4; P <. 001). In the 51 candidates who underwent intraoperative cholangiography, mangafodipir trisodium - enhanced imaging correctly depicted the biliary anatomy more often than did T2-weighted imaging ( in 47 [92%] vs 43 [84%] donor candidates, P =.14), whereas the two MR imaging techniques combined correctly depicted the anatomy in 48 (94%) candidates. CONCLUSION: Mangafodipir trisodium - enhanced 3D MR cholangiography depicts intrahepatic biliary anatomy, especially right duct variants, more accurately than does conventional T2-weighted MR cholangiography.