Hepatic fat quantification magnetic resonance for monitoring treatment response in pediatric nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Table 1 Baseline characteristics of all patients, and comparison between the compliant and non-compliant groups

		All children (n = 27)	Compliant group (n = 22)	Non-compliant group (n = 5)	P value1
Demographics	Male, n (%)	24 (88.9)	20 (90.9)	4 (80.0)	NS
	Age (yr)	12.0 ± 2.3	11.8 ± 1.9	12.8 ± 3.7	NS
	B.wt (kg)	66.2 ± 16.0	65.4 ± 16.5	70.0 ± 14.5	NS
	BMI (kg/m2)	26.6 ± 3.4	28.8 ± 3.6	25.9 ± 2.5	NS
Laboratory findings	AST (IU/L)	79.9 ± 79.4	83.0 ± 85.8	66.0 ± 44.0	NS
	ALT (IU/L)	138.7 ± 112.0	148.6 ± 119.2	95.2 ± 63.7	NS
	T.Bil (mg/dL)	0.6 ± 0.3	0.6 ± 0.3	0.6 ± 0.3	NS
	Albumin (g/dL)	4.6 ± 0.2	4.6 ± 0.2	4.5 ± 0.2	NS
	ALP (IU/L)	208.6 ± 77.3	210.5 ± 73.8	200.4 ± 100.8	NS
	Cholesterol (mg/dL)	187.9 ± 30.0	192.6 ± 30.0	167.0 ± 21.0	NS
	TG (mg/dL)	150.4 ± 74.1	167.7 ± 71.1	74.2 ± 16.4	0.001
	HDL (mg/dL)	45.0 ± 8.3	44.9 ± 9.0	45.2 ± 4.7	NS
	LDL (mg/dL)	120.5 ± 30.3	123.3 ± 32.0	108.0 ± 18.5	NS
Hepatic fat fraction on MR	Dual-echo sequence (%)	34.2 ± 8.5	34.9 ± 8.2	31.3 ± 9.8	NS
	Triple-echo sequence (%)	22.8 ± 7.3	23.6 ± 7.2	19.5 ± 7.4	NS

¹Comparison between the compliant and non-compliant groups using the Mann-Whitney U test, except for gender, which was compared using Fisher’s exact test. All data show mean ± standard deviation. B.wt: Body weight; BMI: Body mass index; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; T.Bil: Total bilirubin; ALP: Alkaline phosphatase; TG: Triglyceride; HDL: High density lipoprotein; LDL: Low density lipoprotein; NS: Not significant.

Table 2 Comparison of clinical outcomes between initial diagnosis and 1 year after referral

	Compliant group (n = 22)			Non-compliant group (n = 5)
	Initial	After 1 yr	P-value1	Initial	After 1 yr	P value1
Male, n (%)	20 (90.9)			4 (80.0)
Age (yr)	11.8 ± 1.9			12.8 ± 3.7
B.wt (kg)	65.4 ± 16.5	67.3 ± 14.7	NS	70.0 ± 14.5	72.3 ± 15.0	NS
BMI (kg/m2)	28.8 ± 3.6	26.3 ± 3.4	0.016	25.9 ± 2.5	26.4 ± 2.7	NS
AST (IU/L)	83.0 ± 85.8	29.2 ± 20.0	0.002	66.0 ± 44.0	50.0 ± 37.5	NS
ALT (IU/L)	148.6 ± 119.2	37.9 ± 41.8	< 0.001	95.2 ± 63.7	84.6 ± 63.5	NS
T.Bil (mg/dL)	0.6 ± 0.3	0.7 ± 0.4	0.015	0.6 ± 0.3	0.70 ± 0.37	NS
Albumin (g/dL)	4.6 ± 0.2	4.6 ± 0.3	NS	4.5 ± 0.2	4.70 ± 0.30	NS
ALP (IU/L)	210.5 ± 73.8	202.1 ± 93.5	NS	200.4 ± 100.8	153.6 ± 71.6	NS
Cholesterol (mg/dL)	192.6 ± 30.0	174.5 ± 28.2	0.001	167.0 ± 21.0	170.8 ± 22.5	NS
TG (mg/dL)	167.7 ± 71.1	106.4 ± 39.8	< 0.001	74.2 ± 16.4	85.4 ± 20.1	NS
HDL (mg/dL)	44.9 ± 9.0	48.4 ± 9.6	< 0.001	45.2 ± 4.7	46.0 ± 4.5	NS
LDL (mg/dL)	123.3 ± 32.0	100.3 ± 26.3	< 0.001	108.0 ± 18.5	105.0 ± 30.8	NS
Dual-echo sequence (%)	34.9 ± 8.2	15.8 ± 8.2	< 0.001	31.3 ± 9.8	35.9 ± 8.9	NS
Triple-echo sequence (%)	23.6 ± 7.2	10.1 ± 4.6	< 0.001	19.5 ± 7.4	22.9 ± 5.6	NS

¹Comparison between initial and 1-year follow-up in the 2 groups using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. All data show mean ± standard deviation.