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Updated: Mar 20, 2026
Author Spotlight: Advancing Hepatic Fibrosis Diagnosis Using Magnetic Resonance Elastography and AI
Published on: July 21, 2023
Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging for assessing liver fibrosis in alcoholic liver disease
Anita Kiani1, Vanessa Brun1, Fabrice Lainé1
1Anita Kiani, Vanessa Brun, Yves Gandon, Department of Abdominal Imaging, Rennes University Hospital, 35033 Rennes, France.
Aim:
To evaluate the performance of elastography by ultrasound with acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) in determining fibrosis stage in patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD) undergoing alcoholic detoxification in relation to biopsy.
Methods:
Eighty-three patients with ALD undergoing detoxification were prospectively enrolled. Each patient underwent ARFI imaging and a liver biopsy on the same day. Fibrosis was staged according to the METAVIR scoring system. The median of 10 valid ARFI measurements was calculated for each patient.
Results:
Sixty-nine males and thirteen females (one patient excluded due to insufficient biopsy size) were assessed with a mean alcohol consumption of 132.4 ± 128.8 standard drinks per week and mean cumulative year duration of 17.6 ± 9.5 years. Sensitivity and specificity were respectively 82.4% (0.70-0.95) and 83.3% (0.73-0.94) (AUROC = 0.87) for F ≥ 2 with a cut-off value of 1.63m/s; 82.4% (0.64-1.00) and 78.5% (0.69-0.89) (AUROC = 0.86) for F ≥ 3 with a cut-off value of 1.84m/s; and 92.3% (0.78-1.00] and 81.6% (0.72-0.90) (AUROC = 0.89) for F = 4 with a cut-off value of 1.94 m/s.
Conclusion:
ARFI is an accurate, non-invasive and easy method for assessing liver fibrosis in patients with ALD undergoing alcoholic detoxification.
