[Acoustic radiation force impulse elastography for liver disease staging in human immunodeficiency virus and...

Survival of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients has improved due to the widespread use of anti-retroviral therapy. However, mortality has increased when HIV-infected patients are co-infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV), and the liver disease in such patients is rapidly progressive compared with that in HCV monoinfected patients. Therefore, accurate staging of the liver disease is critical when determining appropriate treatment.

To clarify the efficacy of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography for the evaluation of liver fibrosis and hepatic functional reserve in HIV/HCV co-infected patients.

The correlation of shear wave velocity (Vs), measured by ARFI elastography, with liver fibrosis or hepatic functional reserve was analyzed.

Vs was significantly correlated with platelet count, splenic volume, hyaluronic acid, type IV collagen, and LHL15 (receptor index: uptake ratio of the liver to the liver plus heart at 15min) in 99mTc-GSA (technetium-99m-diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid-galactosyl human serum albumin) scintigraphy.

ARFI elastography was useful for the staging of liver disease in HIV/HCV co-infected patients and it facilitated minimally invasive and accessible evaluation of fibrosis and functional reserve.