Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis using acoustic structure quantification: comparison with transient elastography in chronic viral hepatitis.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy of acoustic structure quantification (ASQ) parameters [mode, average, and focal distribution (FD) ratio] in the staging of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis and to compare it with transient elastography (TE) by using liver biopsy as reference standard.

Methods: We studied 62 patients with chronic viral hepatitis. Each patient underwent ASQ evaluation and liver biopsy; 54 of these patients received TE.