Performance of shear wave elastography: A single centre pilot study of mixed etiology liver disease patients with normal BMI

Abstract

Purpose: To assess the performance of shear wave ultrasound elastography (SWE) for non-invasive grading of fibrosis in normal BMI patients with varied aetiology chronic liver disease. Method: Prospective SWE liver and spleen stiffness (LS, SS respectively) of 124 patients (94 men, mean age 45.4 AE 12.4 years, mean BMI 19.66 AE 1.49) with CLD of mixed aetiology, who underwent liver biopsy, between January 2019-20 was analysed using receiver operating curve (ROC) and classification analysis regression tree (CART) to determine fibrosis cut-off values and nominal logistical regression to quantify fibrosis. Results: Of 124 patients, 50 (40%) had non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), 31 (25%) chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and 43 (35%) alcoholic liver disease (ALD) on biopsy. Overall mean LS and SS of the study population was 11.81 AE 5.9 and 16.88 AE 10.8 kPa, respectively. LS cut-off value <8 kPa was consistent with F0, 9-14 kPa for F1-F2 and >14.9 kPa for F3-F4 fibrosis on biopsy. On application of CART, LS value < 5.3 kPa was discriminative for NASH, 5.32 to <12.64 kPa for CHB, >12.64 kPa for ALD, SS <15.3 kPa was discriminative for NASH, 15.3-30 kPa for CHB and >30 kPa for ALD in our study population. Conclusion: SWE is a viable non-invasive tool for assessment of liver fibrosis grading in a population of mixed aetiology CLD. LS values in conjunction with SS are promising predictors of F2-F3 fibrosis with potential to discriminate select categories like CHB and NASH in such a population.

Sonography – anyone, anytime, anywhere?

“…I am also reflecting on how far this technology has come: from a massive water bath in the 1950s; to A‐mode scans displayed on an oscilloscope; to the first moving images using M‐mode; through to two‐dimensional (2D) and now three‐dimensional (3D) imaging. We have gone from imaging whole organs to targeting cell motion, such as with shear wave technology as in this AJUM issue, where Laroia et al 1 present their experience of using shear wave electrography for the detection of liver fibrosis.…”