Assessment of hepatic involvement by two-dimensional shear wave elastography in paediatric patients with cystic
Sibel Yavuz1, Ferhat C Pişkin2, Cemil Oktay3
1Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Cukurova University Medical Faculty, Adana, Turkey.
Insights
Two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) detects early liver changes in children with cystic fibrosis (CF) that conventional ultrasound misses. This non-invasive method offers objective monitoring for hepatic involvement in CF patients.
Area of Science:
- Hepatology
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Cystic Fibrosis (CF) can lead to hepatic involvement, often undetected by standard methods.
- Early detection of liver changes in CF is crucial for timely management and improved patient outcomes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate liver parenchymal changes in pediatric patients with Cystic Fibrosis.
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) in detecting hepatic involvement in CF.
Main Methods:
- Prospective evaluation of 39 pediatric CF patients and 37 healthy controls.
- Liver tissue stiffness (TS) measured using 2D-SWE, alongside clinical assessments and routine imaging.
- Comparison of 2D-SWE values between CF patients and controls.
Main Results:
- CF patients exhibited significantly increased liver tissue stiffness compared to healthy controls (P=0.005).
- Mean SWE values were higher in CF patients (1.02 m/s) than in controls (0.89 m/s).
- These parenchymal liver changes were not detectable by conventional ultrasonography.
Conclusions:
- Parenchymal liver changes can occur early in pediatric Cystic Fibrosis.
- 2D-SWE is a promising, non-invasive tool for objective monitoring of liver stiffness in CF.
- 2D-SWE may aid in early detection and management of hepatic involvement in CF patients.
Aim:
This study aimed to investigate parenchymal changes in the liver in paediatric patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and to analyse diagnostic performance of two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) for the detection of hepatic involvement.
Methods:
Patients with CF treated and followed at our centre were evaluated prospectively. All patients underwent liver tissue stiffness (TS) measurements by 2D-SWE, in addition to routine clinical assessments, laboratory work-up and abdominal ultrasound imaging. Data from patients with CF were compared with healthy control subjects.
Results:
This study included 39 patients with CF and 37 healthy controls. Patients had a mean body weight of 29.9 (16.6-55) kg, mean age of 9 (5-17) years, mean height of 130 (107-172) cm and a mean body mass index of 16.1 (12.8-21.4) kg/m2 . Average SWE values of the liver were 1.02 (0.70-1.60) m/s in patients with CF (n = 39) and 0.89 (0.60-1.35) m/s in healthy controls (n = 37). Cystic fibrosis patients had significantly increased tissue stifness by liver elastography compared to controls (P = 0.005).
Conclusion:
Parenchymal liver changes may occur early in cystic fibrosis, which cannot be detected by conventional ultrasonography but may be demonstrated by 2D-SWE. Based on this cross-sectional study, 2D-SWE may be a promising, simple and non-invasive modality for objective monitoring of patients with cystic fibrosis who require lifelong follow-up, by providing numerical data for tissue stiffness early in the disease.
