Changes in Liver and Spleen Stiffness by Virtual Touch Quantification Technique after Balloon-Occluded Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration of Gastric Varices and Exacerbation of Esophageal Varices: A Preliminary Study.

Purpose:  To assess liver stiffness (LS) and spleen stiffness (SS) values measured by virtual touch quantification (VTQ) technique in the monitoring of portal pressure and their usefulness for the prediction of the exacerbation of esophageal varices (EV) in patients with gastric varices undergoing balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration (B-RTO).

Materials And Methods:  The LS, SS, and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) were measured in 20 patients both before and after B-RTO. The change in each parameter between the two groups (EV exacerbation and non-exacerbation groups) was compared by analysis of variance.

Measurement of Spleen Stiffness With Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging Predicts Mortality and Hepatic Decompensation in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis.

Background & Aims: Hepatic venous pressure gradient can predict mortality and hepatic decompensation in patients with cirrhosis. Measurement of hepatic venous pressure gradient requires an invasive procedure; therefore, prognostic markers are needed that do not require invasive procedures. We investigated whether measurements of spleen stiffness, made by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging, associated with mortality and decompensation in patients with cirrhosis, compared with liver stiffness and other markers.

Portal Hypertension in Patients with Liver Cirrhosis: Diagnostic Accuracy of Spleen Stiffness.

Purpose: To evaluate the accuracy of spleen stiffness (SS) and liver stiffness (LS) measured by using acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in the diagnosis of portal hypertension in patients with liver cirrhosis, with the hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) as a reference standard.

Materials And Methods: Institutional review board approval and informed consent were obtained for this prospective single-center study. From February 2012 to August 2013, 60 patients with liver cirrhosis (mean age, 70.

Measurement of spleen stiffness by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging identifies cirrhotic patients with esophageal varices.

Background & Aims: We evaluated whether spleen stiffness (SS), measured by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging, can identify patients who have esophageal varices (EVs); those without EVs would not require endoscopic examination.

Methods: In a prospective study, we measured SS and liver stiffness (LS) in 340 patients with cirrhosis undergoing endoscopic screening for EVs and 16 healthy volunteers (controls) at the Kurashiki Central Hospital in Okayama, Japan. The diagnostic accuracy of SS for the presence of EVs was compared with that of other noninvasive parameters (LS, spleen diameter, and platelet count).