Chikage Nakano1, Takashi Nishimura1,2, Toshifumi Tada3, Masahiro Yoshida1, Tomoyuki Takashima2, Nobuhiro Aizawa2, Naoto Ikeda2, Hiroki Nishikawa2,4, Hirayuki Enomoto2, Etsuro Hatano5, Hirohisa Yano6, Seiichi Hirota7, Hiroyuki Hachiya8, Hiroko Iijima1,2. 1. Ultrasound Imaging Center, Hyogo College of Medicine Hospital, Nishinomiya, Japan. 2. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan. 3. Department of Internal Medicine, Japanease Red Cross Society Himeji Hospital, Himeji, Japan. 4. Center for Clinical Research and Education, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan. 5. Department of Surgery, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan. 6. Department of Pathology, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan. 7. Department of Pathology, Hyogo College of Medicine, Nishinomiya, Japan. 8. School of Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract
AIM: Shear wave elastography (SWE) in patients with chronic liver diseases is a noninvasive useful method for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis severity, which can be an alternative to liver biopsy. However, the liver stiffness measurement using SWE can be affected by various factors including hepatic inflammation, extrahepatic cholestasis, heart failure, and underlying liver diseases. The aim of this study is to clarify the correlation between liver stiffness using SWE and hepatic necroinflammation serologically and pathologically. METHODS: A total of 843 patients with chronic liver disease who received liver biopsy were analyzed. Liver stiffness measurement using transient elastography (TE) and virtual touch quantification (VTQ) were carried out on the same day as the liver biopsy. The correlation between SWE and hepatic inflammation was analyzed serologically and pathologically. RESULTS: The liver stiffness values increased significantly with the progression of liver fibrosis and inflammation (overall p < 0.001). In patients with F0-1, F2, and F3, TE and VTQ values of A2 or A3 were significantly higher than those of A0 or A1 (p value, all <0.05), but not in patients with F4. The median alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values increased significantly with the progression of liver inflammation (p < 0.001). Moreover, TE and VTQ in patients with ALT ≥70 IU/L were significantly higher than those in patients with ALT <70 IU/L (p < 0.01), but not in patients with F4. CONCLUSION: Shear wave elastography can be affected by hepatic necroinflammation in F0-F3 fibrosis, but not in F4.
AIM: Shear wave elastography (SWE) in patients with chronic liver diseases is a noninvasive useful method for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis severity, which can be an alternative to liver biopsy. However, the liver stiffness measurement using SWE can be affected by various factors including hepatic inflammation, extrahepatic cholestasis, heart failure, and underlying liver diseases. The aim of this study is to clarify the correlation between liver stiffness using SWE and hepatic necroinflammation serologically and pathologically. METHODS: A total of 843 patients with chronic liver disease who received liver biopsy were analyzed. Liver stiffness measurement using transient elastography (TE) and virtual touch quantification (VTQ) were carried out on the same day as the liver biopsy. The correlation between SWE and hepatic inflammation was analyzed serologically and pathologically. RESULTS: The liver stiffness values increased significantly with the progression of liver fibrosis and inflammation (overall p < 0.001). In patients with F0-1, F2, and F3, TE and VTQ values of A2 or A3 were significantly higher than those of A0 or A1 (p value, all <0.05), but not in patients with F4. The median alanine aminotransferase (ALT) values increased significantly with the progression of liver inflammation (p < 0.001). Moreover, TE and VTQ in patients with ALT ≥70 IU/L were significantly higher than those in patients with ALT <70 IU/L (p < 0.01), but not in patients with F4. CONCLUSION: Shear wave elastography can be affected by hepatic necroinflammation in F0-F3 fibrosis, but not in F4.