Noninvasive Assessment of Liver Diseases using 2D Shear Wave Elastography.

There has been great interest in the development of non-invasive techniques for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in chronic liver diseases, including ultrasound elastographic methods. Some of these methods have already been adequately studied for the non-invasive assessment of diffuse liver diseases. Others, however, such as two-dimensional Shear Wave Elastography (SWE), of more recent appearance, have yet to be validated and some aspects are for the moment incompletely elucidated.

Diagnostic accuracy of controlled attenuation parameter measured by transient elastography for the non-invasive assessment of liver steatosis: a prospective study.

Background And Aims: A novel non-invasive tool based on the evaluation of ultrasound attenuation using transient elastography (TE) has been developed, called controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). We aim to establish the histopathological parameters that significantly influence CAP, the cutoff values and their performance in predicting each steatosis grade on a group of biopsied patients with chronic liver diseases (CLD) from Romania.

Methods: We prospectively analyzed 201 consecutive CLD patients who underwent CAP measurements using TE.

Noninvasive assessment of liver steatosis using ultrasound methods.

Hepatic steatosis is a condition frequently encountered in clinical practice, with potential progression towards chirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Ultrasonography (US) is one of the noninvasive imaging techniques used in the diagnosis of steatosis. We will review the US diagnostic criteria, the US performance in the diagnosis and grading of hepatic steatosis, the US steatosis models, but also its limitations in the diagnosis of steatosis.

Performance of unidimensional transient elastography in staging chronic hepatitis C. Results from a cohort of 1,202 biopsied patients from one single center.

Background & Aims: The current study aimed to establish the liver stiffness (LS) cut-off values and their performance in the prediction of the fibrosis stage in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients, to find the anthropometric and biochemical factors leading to overestimation of the fibrosis stage and to analyze the factors leading to the technique failure.

Methods: 1,202 consecutive CHC patients were prospectively included in the study. All of them underwent percutaneous liver biopsy for grading and staging the disease (METAVIR) and were referred to LS measurement 1 day prior to biopsy.

A new and simple algorithm for the noninvasive assessment of esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients using serum fibrosis markers and transient elastography.

Background And Aim: Noninvasive serum liver fibrosis markers and liver stiffness could be used as predictors of esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients because portal hypertension is related to liver fibrosis. The aim of this study was to compare the performance of common serum fibrosis scores and transient elastography in diagnosing esophageal varices and to propose a new algorithm for predicting large varices.

Methods: 231 consecutive cirrhotic patients (58.

Spleen stiffness measurement using Fibroscan for the noninvasive assessment of esophageal varices in liver cirrhosis patients.

Background And Aim: Splenomegaly in a common finding in liver cirrhosis that should determine changes in the spleen's density because of portal and splenic congestion and/or because of tissue hyperplasia and fibrosis. These changes might be quantified by elastography, so the aim of the study was to investigate whether spleen stiffness measured by transient elastography varies as liver disease progresses and whether this would be a suitable method for the noninvasive evaluation of the presence of esophageal varices.

Patients And Methods: One hundred and ninety-one patients (135 liver cirrhosis, 39 chronic hepatitis and 17 healthy controls) were evaluated by transient elastography for measurements of spleen and liver stiffness.

Performance of unidimensional transient elastography in staging non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Background/aims: Transient elastography (TE) is a noninvasive method for predicting liver fibrosis, mainly validated in patients with viral hepatitis. Information is still limited concerning its performance in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) patients. We aimed to assess the value of TE in the prediction of fibrosis stage in NASH as well as the factors determining the discordance between the TE-predicted and the biopsy-proven fibrosis stage in these patients.

Performance of a new elastographic method (ARFI technology) compared to unidimensional transient elastography in the noninvasive assessment of chronic hepatitis C. Preliminary results.

Background And Aims: The current study aims to evaluate the performance of a new elastographic method (ARFI) in noninvasive fibrosis assessment and to compare it to another validated technology (transient elastography, TE).

Method: 112 consecutive chronic hepatitis C patients (histologically proven according to the Metavir scoring system: 12.5% F0, 26.

Analysis of histopathological changes that influence liver stiffness in chronic hepatitis C. Results from a cohort of 324 patients.

Aim: The current study aims to assess the role of the histological parameters in liver biopsy for explaining the variance of liver stiffness, as well as the performance of transient elastography in quantifying liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C.

Methods: 324 consecutive CHC patients were prospectively included in this study. All of them had positive HCV-RNA in serum and had underwent percutaneous liver biopsy for grading and staging the diseases (METAVIR scoring system).