CT and MRI of diffuse lobar involvement pattern in liver pathology

Abstract

Focal, segmental, and diffuse liver pathologies have been described in the literature. This article describes a pattern in which liver pathology is confined to a lobe. This lobar pattern has not been described previously to our knowledge. Herein, we illustrate computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of diffuse lobar involvement patterns in various liver conditions. Diffuse lobar involvement can be observed in benign (steatosis, hepatic iron overload, cholestasis, perfusion alterations, infarction, alveolar hydatid cysts, trauma, and hemangiomas) and primary malignant (hepatocellular carcinoma) pathologies. Diffuse lobar involvement in metastatic disease appears to be rare. Due in part to their potentially unusual appearances, the diagnosis of lobar pathologies using imaging can be challenging, and entities with lobar patterns can cause diagnostic confusion. Liver MRI can be used as a problem-solving tool for diffuse lobar pathologies detected on ultrasonography and CT. Inand out-of-phase MRI can help in the assessment of lobar fat accumulation.

Innovation in hepatic alveolar echinococcosis imaging: best use of old tools, and necessary evaluation of new ones

“…CT features of HAE lesions have been reported to be a differential diagnosis for primary hepatic neoplasms such as cholangiocarcinoma, biliary cystadenoma, and biliary cystadenocarcinoma, as well as for hepatic metastases. However, the CT findings of hypo-attenuation, calcification, and absence of contrast enhancement in a hepatic lesion usually help identify it as HAE [ 22 , 25 ]. Recent observations of liver metastasis-like images in patients with digestive cancer, eventually leading to the discovery of HAE after months of misdiagnosis, have however dampened the notion of a usually easy differential diagnosis [ 10 ]; so have hemangioma-like and liver abscess-like images in patients with acquired immune suppression due to chemotherapy and/or anti-TNF biotherapeutic agents ( Fig.…”

Total liver fat quantification using three‐dimensional respiratory self‐navigated MRI sequence

“…Although the distribution of fat in the liver is usually homogenous, there are some situations where this is not the case . Therefore, it would be ideal to have a technique capable of obtaining a true three‐dimensional (3D) FF map with great precision.…”