Reproducibility of abdominal fat assessment by ultrasound and computed tomography.

Marum Mauad, Fernando; Chagas-Neto, Francisco Abaeté; Garcia Saab Benedeti, Augusto César; Nogueira-Barbosa, Marcello Henrique; Muglia, Valdair Francisco; Oliveira Carneiro, Antonio Adilton; Mattana Muller, Enrico; Junior, Jorge Elias

Objective: To test the accuracy and reproducibility of ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) for the quantification of abdominal fat in correlation with the anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical assessments. Materials and Methods: Using ultrasound and CT, we determined the thickness of subcutaneous and intra-abdominal fat in 101 subjects—of whom 39 (38.6%) were men and 62 (61.4%) were women—with a mean age of 66.3 years (60–80 years). The ultrasound data were correlated with the anthropometric, clinical, and biochemical parameters, as well as with the areas measured by abdominal CT. Results: Intra-abdominal thickness was the variable for which the correlation with the areas of abdominal fat was strongest (i.e., the correlation coefficient was highest). We also tested the reproducibility of ultrasound and CT for the assessment of abdominal fat and found that CT measurements of abdominal fat showed greater reproducibility, having higher intraobserver and interobserver reliability than had the ultrasound measurements. There was a significant correlation between ultrasound and CT, with a correlation coefficient of 0.71. Conclusion: In the assessment of abdominal fat, the intraobserver and interobserver reliability were greater for CT than for ultrasound, although both methods showed high accuracy and good reproducibility.

ABDOMINAL adipose tissue; ULTRASONIC imaging of the abdomen; COMPUTED tomography

Radiologia Brasileira, 2017, Vol 50, Issue 3, p141

0100-3984

Academic Journal

10.1590/0100-3984.2016.0023