Factors correlating with acoustic radiation force impulse elastography in chronic hepatitis C
Toru Nishikawa1, Senju Hashimoto1, Naoto Kawabe1
1Toru Nishikawa, Senju Hashimoto, Naoto Kawabe, Masao Harata, Yoshifumi Nitta, Michihito Murao, Takuji Nakano, Yuko Mizuno, Hiroaki Shimazaki, Toshiki Kan, Kazunori Nakaoka, Yuka Takagawa, Masashi Ohki, Kentaro Yoshioka, Department of Liver, Biliary Tract and Pancreas Diseases, Fujita Health University, Aichi 470-1192, Japan.
World Journal of Gastroenterology
|February 28, 2014
Summary
Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography in chronic hepatitis C correlates with fibrosis stage and hyaluronic acid levels. Other factors like BMI and GGT also influence ARFI measurements depending on fibrosis severity.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Medical Imaging
- Biomarkers
Background:
- Chronic hepatitis C is a significant cause of liver disease.
- Accurate assessment of liver fibrosis is crucial for patient management.
- Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography is a non-invasive imaging technique used to evaluate liver stiffness.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify factors beyond fibrosis stage that correlate with ARFI elastography measurements in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
- To explore the influence of clinical and biochemical parameters on ARFI values across different fibrosis stages.
Main Methods:
- 108 patients with chronic hepatitis C underwent ARFI elastography and liver biopsy.
- Computer-assisted morphometric image analysis quantified fibrosis area in biopsy specimens.
- Multiple regression analysis and Spearman's rank correlation assessed relationships between ARFI, fibrosis, and other variables.
Main Results:
- ARFI elastography significantly correlated with fibrosis stage and hyaluronic acid levels in all patients.
- Fibrosis area showed a significant correlation with ARFI by Spearman's test.
- ARFI was influenced by body mass index (BMI) in early fibrosis (F0-F1), γ-glutamyltranspeptidase (GGT) in moderate fibrosis (F2), and both fibrosis stage and hyaluronic acid in advanced fibrosis (F3-F4).
- Specific ARFI cutoff values were established for different fibrosis severity levels (F≥2, F≥3, F4).
Conclusions:
- ARFI elastography is a valuable tool for assessing liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C.
- While ARFI correlates with fibrosis stage and hyaluronic acid, it is also influenced by other factors such as BMI, GGT, and hyaluronic acid levels, varying with fibrosis severity.
- ARFI did not correlate with inflammation markers in this study.
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