Correlation Between Hepatic and Splenic Steatosis Assessed by Transient Elastography in Patients With Metabolic...

Objective Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) can rapidly progress to steatohepatitis, liver fibrosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. However, it is a multisystem disease, and most of the MASLD-related morbidity and mortality is due to its extrahepatic complications. In light of the growing impact of MASLD on extrahepatic organs, we aimed to evaluate spleen fat deposition and compare it with liver fat deposition by vibration-controlled transient elastography using its attenuation parameter. Design Eighty patients from the outpatient department, who met the criteria of MASLD, were included in the study. Both liver and spleen elastography were performed via FibroScan at the same time before treatment. Results Out of the 80 people studied, 69 (86.3%) were male patients. Their age ranged from 22 to 86 years (mean 42.44± 11.92), and BMI ranged between 20.5 to 39.8 kg/m² (28.12± 3.99). Hypertension was present in 45 (56.3%) patients. Sixteen (20%) patients had mild liver steatosis, 26 (32.5%) had moderate, and 28 (35%) patients recorded the presence of severe fatty liver. Using the same cut-off values for spleen, 28 (35%) patients had normal attenuation (steatosis), four (5%) had mild spleen steatosis, 17 (21.3%) had moderate, and 31 (38.8%) patients had severe fatty spleen. A bivariate correlation analysis revealed a significant correlation between hepatic and splenic steatosis (p=0.01). Furthermore, patients with elevated spleen steatosis demonstrated higher liver fat content as indicated by raised liver controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) values (289.79±30.10 dB/m) compared to those without spleen steatosis (264.67±41.85 dB/m). Conclusion This study shows correlation of fatty liver with that of steatosis of the spleen, highlighting the extrahepatic multiorgan effects of the MASLD.