Frank W DiPaola1, Kurt R Schumacher2, Caren S Goldberg2, Joshua Friedland-Little3, Aishwarya Parameswaran4, Jonathan R Dillman5. 1. Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. dipaolaf@med.umich.edu. 2. Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, University of Michigan Health System, 1500 East Medical Center Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. 3. Division of Pediatric Cardiology, Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children's Hospital, 4800 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA. 4. Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research (MICHR), University of Michigan, 2800 Plymouth Road, Building 400, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA. 5. Department of Radiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Assess liver stiffness using ultrasound point shear wave elastography (US P-SWE) in children before and after the Fontan operation. METHODS: Eighteen children undergoing the Fontan operation were prospectively enrolled. Eight US P-SWE measurements were obtained from the right hepatic lobe before surgery, and at multiple postoperative time points. Temporally related inferior vena cava pressure (IVC) data was collected from medical records, when available. Changes in mean liver shear wave speed (SWS) were assessed using a mixed-effect model with post hoc Tukey correction. Changes in IVC pressure were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Mean age at enrolment was 33.5 ± 10.5 months. Baseline mean liver SWS was normal at 1.18 ± 0.29 m/s, increased to 2.28 ± 0.31 m/s at 2.5 ± 1.2 days (p < 0.0001) and to 2.22 ± 0.38 m/s at 7.5 ± 1.4 days (p < 0.0001). Five subjects returned at a mean of 185 ± 28 days, and mean liver SWS remained elevated at 2.08 ± 0.24 m/s (p < 0.0001). Mean IVC pressure increased from 7.2 ± 2.6 mmHg at baseline to 16.44 ± 3.3 mmHg at 2.2 ± 0.8 days post-surgery (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The Fontan operation immediately and chronically increases liver stiffness and IVC pressure. Our study provides further evidence that congestion is a key driver of Fontan-associated liver disease. KEY POINTS: • The Fontan operation triggers immediate hepatic congestion and marked liver stiffening. • Congestion, not fibrosis, drives early increased liver stiffness in Fontan patients. • Hepatic congestion persists chronically for months after the Fontan operation. • Congestion confounds shear wave elastography as a post-Fontan liver fibrosis biomarker.
OBJECTIVES: Assess liver stiffness using ultrasound point shear wave elastography (US P-SWE) in children before and after the Fontan operation. METHODS: Eighteen children undergoing the Fontan operation were prospectively enrolled. Eight US P-SWE measurements were obtained from the right hepatic lobe before surgery, and at multiple postoperative time points. Temporally related inferior vena cava pressure (IVC) data was collected from medical records, when available. Changes in mean liver shear wave speed (SWS) were assessed using a mixed-effect model with post hoc Tukey correction. Changes in IVC pressure were evaluated using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A p value less than 0.05 was considered significant. RESULTS: Mean age at enrolment was 33.5 ± 10.5 months. Baseline mean liver SWS was normal at 1.18 ± 0.29 m/s, increased to 2.28 ± 0.31 m/s at 2.5 ± 1.2 days (p < 0.0001) and to 2.22 ± 0.38 m/s at 7.5 ± 1.4 days (p < 0.0001). Five subjects returned at a mean of 185 ± 28 days, and mean liver SWS remained elevated at 2.08 ± 0.24 m/s (p < 0.0001). Mean IVC pressure increased from 7.2 ± 2.6 mmHg at baseline to 16.44 ± 3.3 mmHg at 2.2 ± 0.8 days post-surgery (p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The Fontan operation immediately and chronically increases liver stiffness and IVC pressure. Our study provides further evidence that congestion is a key driver of Fontan-associated liver disease. KEY POINTS: • The Fontan operation triggers immediate hepatic congestion and marked liver stiffening. • Congestion, not fibrosis, drives early increased liver stiffness in Fontan patients. • Hepatic congestion persists chronically for months after the Fontan operation. • Congestion confounds shear wave elastography as a post-Fontan liver fibrosis biomarker.
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