Background: Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), previously known as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), is increasingly prevalent in children. However, reliable noninvasive diagnostic tools remain limited. The hepatorenal index (HRI) has been proposed as a quantitative ultrasound method to assess hepatic steatosis. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of HRI in detecting pediatric MASLD. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted on 13 September 2025, following PRISMA-DTA guidelines, with the protocol registered in PROSPERO (CRD420251146939). MEDLINE, PubMed, Cochrane Library, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar were searched. Studies that assessed HRI against reference standards (MRI-PDFF or liver biopsy) in pediatric MASLD were included. Pooled diagnostic parameters were estimated using a bivariate random-effects model, with heterogeneity evaluated by I2 statistics and publication bias by funnel plot asymmetry. Results: Four studies involving 194 pediatric patients (47.9% MASLD), mostly male (57.7%), met the inclusion criteria. The suggested HRI cut-off varies from ≥1.215 to 1.99. The pooled sensitivity and specificity were 90% (95% CI 70–97) and 84% (95% CI 73–92), respectively, with an AUC of 0.91 (95% CI 0.88–0.93). Positive and negative likelihood ratios were 6 and 0.12, corresponding to post-test probabilities of 32% and 1%, respectively. No significant publication bias or heterogeneity was detected. Conclusions: Although HRI demonstrates strong diagnostic performance, it currently lacks sufficient discriminatory power to definitively confirm or exclude MASLD in pediatric populations and should therefore be regarded as a supportive rather than definitive diagnostic tool pending further high-quality validation studies.
Sutanto et al. (Sun,) studied this question.