Aim:

Cisterna chyli is a lymphatic duct located in the retrocural area at the right side of the aorta. There are studies reporting an increase in the diameter of the cisterna chyli in various diseases such as autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, portal hypertension and heart failure which can be demonstrated by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The aim of this study is to determine the possible changes in the diameter of the cisterna in chronic liver disease and to evaluate the possible increase in the diameter as a diagnostic imaging finding in MRI.,

Materials and Methods:

33 chronic liver patients and 56 healthy controls (HC) were included in this study. In both groups, the largest transverse diameter of the cisterna was measured on heavy T2-weighted axial sequences obtained with single-shot fast spinecho technique by using 1.5 Tesla MRI device. The cisterna chyli diameter in patients with chronic liver diesease was compared to HC group. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was created to determine the effectiveness of different cisterna chyli thresholds in revealing chronic liver disease.

Results:

The mean cisterna chyli diameter was 4,91 ± 1,5 mm in the patient group and 4,31 ± 1,12 mm in the control group, and it was wider in the patient group and statistically significant (p <0,05). In the ROC analysis, the optimal cut-off value of the cisterna chile diameter for determining chronic liver disease was determined to be > 4.4 mm with a sensitivity of 0,606 and a specificity of 0,768.

Conclusion:

The cisterna chyli diameter is more dilated in chronic liver disease than in the normal population, and dilated cisterna chyli may be used as a marker of MRI indicating chronic liver disease, supporting other imaging findings.

Keywords: Cisterna Chyli, Chronic liver disease, Magnetic resonance