B-mode shear wave elastography can be an alternative method to vibration-controlled transient elastography according...

Area of Science:

• Hepatology
• Medical Imaging
• Biophysics

Background:

• Liver stiffness measurement is crucial for assessing liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease.
• Vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and shear wave elastography (SWE) are non-invasive methods for liver stiffness assessment.
• Comparing different elastography techniques is essential for standardizing fibrosis evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) with point shear wave elastography (SWE).
• To generate regression equations between VCTE and point SWE measurements.
• To evaluate the utility of combination-elastography and liver fibrosis index (LFI) in assessing liver fibrosis.

Main Methods:

• 829 patients with chronic liver disease were enrolled, excluding those with a skin-liver capsule distance > 25 mm.
• Reproducibility of VCTE and SWE was confirmed in phantom and clinical studies.
• Linear regression analysis was used to derive regression equations between VCTE and point SWE values.

Main Results:

• Strong correlations were observed between VCTE and SWE in both phantom (r=0.995) and clinical (r=0.747) studies.
• A regression equation was established: VCTE (kPa) = 1.09 × point SWE (kPa) - 0.17, with no significant bias.
• No correlation was found between VCTE and LFI (r=0.279), indicating significant bias.

Conclusions:

• Point SWE measurements are comparable to VCTE for assessing liver stiffness.
• The developed regression equation facilitates the conversion of point SWE values to VCTE equivalents.
• VCTE and LFI are not directly comparable for liver fibrosis assessment in this cohort.