Evaluation of Renal Cortical Thickness by Noncontrast-Enhanced MR Imaging, with Spatially Selective Ir Pulses: Comparison Between Cirrhotic and Noncirrhotic Patients

Akihiko Kanki¹, Katsuyoshi Ito¹, Tsutomu Tamada¹, Yasufumi Noda¹, Atsushi Higaki¹, Tomohiro Sato¹, Kazuya Yasokawa¹, Akira Yamamoto¹

The aim of this study was to compare the renal cortical thicknesses between cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients with normal renal functions based on serum creatinine by using noncontrast-enhanced SSFP MR imaging with spatially selective IR pulse. The serum creatinine levels and eGFRs did not significantly differ between the cirrhotic and noncirrhotic groups. Conversely, the mean renal cortical thickness and renal cortical width ratio of the cirrhotic group were significantly lower than those for the noncirrhotic group. This suggests that these measurements by noncontrast-enhanced SSFP MR imaging with spatially selective IR pulse would help evaluate renal function in cirrhotic patients.