Accuracy of the Chula's formula for calculation of standard liver volume in Thai population

Background: Standard liver volume (SLV) is an important concept in living donor liver transplantation for treatment of end-stage liver disease. Accurate estimation of the SLV of living donor and recipient is crucial to ensure optimal graft function and avoid complications. Objective: 1) to assess the proposed formula for calculation of SLV in Thai population, using computed tomography (CT) volumetric measurement as a gold standard. 2) to evaluate the factors (e.g. age, sex, body weight and body surface area) related to differences between SLV calculated from the proposed formula and CT volumetric measurement. Materials and methods: We evaluated 497 patients underwent contrast-enhanced abdominal multi-detector CT for conditions unrelated to hepatobiliary system with normal liver radiology between October 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015 were included. Calculated SLV by the proposed formula (SLV = 20.76 x body weight) were compared to the total liver volume (TLV) measured from multi-detector CT by using computerized tool automatically. Factors related to the difference between SLV and TLV were evaluated. Result: The aforementioned formula showed a high accuracy in estimating the liver volume with some limitations in overweight or underwent patients. The mean difference between SLV and TLV is 3.36 cm3 with SD of 224.65 cm3. Conclusion: We proposed a new formula ("Chula's standard liver volume") that demonstrates a high accuracy for calculation of SLV in Thai population. Keywords: Liver volume; MDCT; standard liver volume; Thai population