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Noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis in thalassaemia major patients by transient elastography (TE) – lack of interference by iron deposition
Author(s) -
Di Marco Vito,
Bronte Fabrizio,
Cabibi Daniela,
Calvaruso Vincenza,
Alaimo Giuseppe,
Borsellino Zelia,
Gagliardotto Francesco,
Almasio Piero Luigi,
Capra Marcello,
Craxì Antonio
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2141.2009.07996.x
Subject(s) - transient elastography , cirrhosis , medicine , fibrosis , receiver operating characteristic , elastography , liver fibrosis , confidence interval , gastroenterology , pathology , nuclear medicine , radiology , ultrasound
Summary The correlation between liver stiffness, measured by transient elastography, liver fibrosis, using the histological METAVIR score, and iron overload, measured by atomic absorption spectrometry was evaluated in 56 homozygous‐β‐thalassaemics. Liver stiffness increased proportionally to liver fibrosis staging ( r = 0·70; P > 0·001) independently of liver iron concentration ( r = 0·01; P = 0·932). The area under the receiver‐operating characteristic curve for prediction of cirrhosis was 0·997 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0·925–1·000) with cut‐off of 13 kPa with 100% sensitivity (95% CI: 69·0–100·0) and 95% specificity (95% CI: 84·2–99·3). Transient elastography is a reliable non‐invasive tool for diagnosing advanced liver fibrosis in homozygous‐β‐thalassaemics, regardless of the degree of iron overload.