Correlation between clinical evaluation of liver size versus ultrasonography evaluation according to body mass index (BMI) and biotypes

Abstract

Background: Body weight may influence liver size. Aim: To determine the correlation between clinical and ultrasound evaluation of the liver size according to body mass index (BMI). Material and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 81 subjects aged 25 ± 6 years (43 females). Two percussion measurements were taken and ul-trasonography was performed on the same site demarcated by percussion. Results: Mean BMI was 23 ± 4 kg/m2. Nineteen individuals (23.5%) had a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. There was a significant difference between the values of liver size obtained by clinical and ultrasound methods. The correlation coefficient between the liver size obtained by clinical and ultrasound methods was 0.419 (p < 0.01). No significant differences in liver size were observed, between subjects with a BMI below or over 25 kg/m2. In all subjects, regardless of BMI, there was a statistically significant difference between the mean sizes obtained by both methods. The correlation coefficients between both methods in subjects with a BMI ≤ 25 Kg/m2 and their counterparts with higher BMI were 0.47 and 0.03, respectively. Conclusions: There are significant differences in liver size obtained by clinical examination and ultrasound. Only in subjects with BMI ≤ 25 kg/m2, the correlation between the two techniques is significant.