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%CDT is of high diagnostic value to support diagnosis of alcohol-use disorders. The specificity of this marker in patient groups with liver disorders is superior to the biomarkers gamma-GT and MCV.

Purpose: Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging (ARFI) is a new ultrasound elastography technology (Siemens ACUSON S2000 Virtual Touch TM Tissue Quantification), which is integrated in conventional ultrasound equipment. In preliminary studies, ARFI sheer wave speed (SWS) in liver tissue correlated well with transient elastography (TE) values and liver fibrosis stages.Materials and methods: Sixty-eight healthy male and female volunteers were measured with ARFI with two ultrasound tranducers, three measuring positions and during valsalva manoeuvre. A TE (FibroScan TM , Echosens, France) was performed in 60 volunteers.Results: Volunteers had a mean age of 28 years and a mean BMI of 22.3. There was no significant difference of ARFI SWS between the 4C1 and 4V1 ultrasound probes in either intercostal or abdominal approach to liver segment 8 but a higher variance of ARFI SWS with the 4V1/abdominal compared to the intercostal approach (p = 0.0368). The 4C1/intercostal approach had the highest success rates (97.2%), comparable to those of TE (97.18%). Left liver lobe measurements obtained both significantly higher ARFI SWS and value variance (p = 0.0016 and p = 0.0198) compared to 4C1/intercostal approach. Mean ARFI SWS was 1.19 m/s (range 0.77-1.63). Mean TE was 5.39 kPa (range 3.3-9.0 kPa). Valsalva manoeuvre did not significantly alter ARFI SWS and variance. Skin-liver distance significantly influenced ARFI SWS (p < 0.05), while age and gender did not.Conclusion: These results might constitute a first impression of the chances of ARFI SWS to assess liver stiffness, especially in patients with liver diseases due to increased venous pressure.

Empiric antibiotic treatment of PE may not adequately treat rare pathogens such as S. maltophilia. Administration of an effective systemic or intravitreal antibiotic treatment after identification of S. maltophilia may have contributed to the favorable clinical course and relatively low relapse frequency in our patients. Despite the known problem of persistence of S. maltophilia, visual acuity outcome after treatment is comparable to PE induced by other Gram-positive or Gram-negative bacteria.

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