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Reduction of Shear Wave Elastography but Not Shear Wave Dispersion After Successful Hepatitis C Treatment With Direct‐Acting Antiviral Agents
Author(s) -
Su Peiyuan,
Su WeiWen,
Wu Lisha,
Hsu PoKe,
Huang SiouPing,
Hsu YuChun
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of ultrasound in medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.574
H-Index - 91
eISSN - 1550-9613
pISSN - 0278-4297
DOI - 10.1002/jum.15576
Subject(s) - medicine , transient elastography , elastography , antiviral therapy , gastroenterology , ultrasound , hepatitis c , attenuation , liver fibrosis , cirrhosis , chronic hepatitis , immunology , radiology , virus , physics , optics
Objectives Successful antiviral treatment in patients with hepatitis C can lead to reduced liver stiffness. In this study, we attempted to compare 2‐dimensional (2D) shear wave elastography (SWE), shear wave dispersion (SWD), and attenuation imaging (ATI) with transient elastography (TE) and the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) in patients under direct‐acting antiviral (DAA) therapy. Methods Patients with chronic hepatitis C infection undergoing DAA therapy from January 2017 to June 2020 were retrospectively examined. The results of 2D SWE, SWD, ATI, TE, and CAP were recorded before and 12 weeks after the completion of DAA therapy. Results A total of 122 patients with a median age of 61 years were investigated; among them, 121 (99.2%) achieved a sustained virologic response at 12 weeks after DAA therapy. Fibrosis 4, the aspartate aminotransferase–to–platelet ratio index, 2D SWE, and TE were reduced after DAA therapy. The CAP was increased; however, SWD and ATI showed no statistically significant changes after DAA therapy. Two‐dimensional SWE and TE were strongly correlated ( r = 0.885–0.897; P < .001). Albumin and the baseline liver stiffness measurement were independent factors of liver stiffness measurement changes after DAA therapy. Conclusions Direct‐acting antiviral therapy can significantly decrease liver stiffness (using both 2D SWE and TE) but not SWD and ATI values in patients with hepatitis C. An increased CAP is also observed after DAA therapy.