The role of ultrasonographic hepatic artery resistive index in the diagnosis of insulin resistance in obese children with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Aim: To determine the role of hepatic artery resistive Index (HARI) measurement in the prediction of insulin resistance (IR) in obese children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Materials and methods: A total of 64 obese subjects with NAFLD (13.5 +/- 1.36 years of age, 34 male) and 32 age- and gender-matched control subjects (13 8 +/- 1.24 years of age, 16 male) were enrolled in the study. All subjects underwent a physical examination, laboratory tests, and ultrasonographic and Doppler examinations of the liver. The homeostasis model assessment of 112 (HOMA-IR) was used for the IR diagnosis. Results: Obese subjects with NAFLD had significantly higher HARI, insulin, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), and HOMA-IR than the control subjects Obese subjects with NAFLD and IR had significantly higher HARI compared to obese subjects with NAFLD but without IR (0 761 +/- 0.04 vs 0 732 +/- 004, P = 0.006) Changes in HARI correlated significantly to changes in BM I, SDS-BMI, MAC, TSF, MAC, ALT, TC, insulin, and HOMA-IR (r = 0578, P = 0.001, r = 0547, P = 0.001; r = 0 549, P = 0001; r = 0504, P = 0 001, r = 0.549, P = 0001, r = 0223, P = 0.029; r = 0306, P = 0.002; r = 0.315, P = 0011, r = 0.295, P = 0018, respectively). As an optimal cutoff point, a HARI level of 0 715 determined IR with 81 2% sensitivity and 71.9% specificity Conclusion: Our findings suggest that HARI might be used as a simple and non-invasive screening method to predict IR in obese children with NAFLD