Controlled attenuation parameter for evaluating liver steatosis in chronic viral hepatitis.

Aim: To assess the performance of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) in patients with chronic viral hepatitis.

Methods: CAP is a new technique that measures the attenuation in the liver of an ultrasound beam, which is directly related to lipid accumulation. Consecutive patients undergoing liver biopsy for chronic viral hepatitis were studied using the M probe of FibroScan device (Echosens, Paris, France). The device estimates liver steatosis in decibel per meter (dB/m). An expert operator performed all measurements. Steatosis was graded according to Kleiner's classification. Pearson or Spearman rank coefficient was used to test correlation between two study variables. Linear regression was used for multivariate model to assess the association between CAP and other variables. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to calculate area under the curve (AUROC) for S0 vs S1-S3 and S0-S1 vs S2-S3.

Results: 115 subjects (85 males and 30 females) were prospectively studied. The mean values of CAP were 227.1 ± 43.1 for S0; 254.6 ± 38.9 for S1; 297.8 ± 49.4 dB/m for S2-S3. In univariate analysis CAP showed a significant correlation with age, body mass index (BMI), degree of steatosis, and cholesterol. Multivariate regression analysis confirmed the correlation with the degree of steatosis [coefficient, 1.2 (0.60-1.83); P < 10(-5)] and BMI [coefficient, 4.1 (0.5-7.8); P = 0.03] but not with all other variables. Optimal cutoff values for S ≥ 1 and S ≥ 2 were 219 dB/m [AUROC, 0.76 (0.67-0.84); sensitivity, 91.1% (78.8-97.5); specificity, 51.6% (38.7-64.2); positive predictive value, 56.9% (44.7-68.6); negative predictive value, 89.2% (74.3-97.0); positive likelihood ratio, 1.88 (1.4-2.5); negative likelihood ratio, 0.17 (0.07-0.5)] and 296 dB/m [AUROC, 0.82 (0.74-0.89); sensitivity, 60.0% (32.3-83.7); specificity, 91.5% (83.9-96.3); positive predictive value, 52.9% (27.8-77.0); negative predictive value, 93.5% (86.3-97.6); positive likelihood ratio, 7.05 (3.2-15.4); negative likelihood ratio, 0.44 (0.2-0.8)], respectively.

Conclusion: Controlled attenuation parameter could be a useful tool in the clinical management of patients with chronic viral hepatitis for detecting liver steatosis.