Shear-wave elastography for evaluation of hepatic stiffness in chronic viral hepatitis B and C.

AIM OF THE STUDY

To analyse the consistency between 2D shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE) stiffness and fibrosis in liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections. The secondary aim of the study was to analyse the consistency between liver stiffness in 2D-SWE and transient elastography (TE) measurements in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The study compared the results of hepatic stiffness assessment with 2D-SWE to available past liver biopsy reports in 153 patients with chronic HBV ( = 51) and HCV ( = 102) infection. In 43 patients with both hepatitides HBV ( = 8) and HCV ( = 35) we performed FibroScan on the same day as 2D-SWE. The appropriate statistical tests were applied for the analysis.

RESULTS

Stiffness values analysed in the whole studied population showed a significant positive correlation with a stage of liver fibrosis in biopsy ( = 0.555, < 0.001). If 2D-SWE was carried out within 24 months since liver biopsy the consistency of the results was 96%, and if the period between procedures exceeded 24 months the consistency was 81%. In 43 patients with both 2D-SWE and TE the coherence ( = 0.872, < 0.001) and consistency (95%) between these two methods were high.

CONCLUSIONS

Liver stiffness measured with 2D-SWE showed good consistency with stage of liver fibrosis in liver biopsies, particularly in HCV infected patients, and if the period between procedures did not exceed 24 months.