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Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging for Assessing Liver Fibrosis Preoperatively in Infants With Biliary Atresia: Comparison With Liver Fibrosis Biopsy Pathology
Author(s) -
Gao Fen,
Chen YaQing,
Fang Jing,
Gu ShengLi,
Li Luan,
Wang XiaoYing
Publication year - 2017
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 - 10.7863/ultra.16.08043
Subject(s) - medicine , biliary atresia , fibrosis , receiver operating characteristic , cirrhosis , liver biopsy , biopsy , liver fibrosis , hepatic fibrosis , nuclear medicine , radiology , gastroenterology , pathology , liver transplantation , transplantation
Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) in assessing liver fibrosis preoperatively in infants with biliary atresia (BA). Methods A total of 50 consecutive infants with BA and 50 healthy infants who underwent ARFI examination were recruited. Siemens Acuson S2000 in Virtual Touch Quantification mode (Siemens Medical Solutions, Mountain View, CA) was used to measure shear wave speeds (SWSs). All infants with BA underwent a liver biopsy within 3 days after ARFI imaging. The liver fibrosis stages of specimens were defined according to the Batts‐Ludwig scoring system. The correlation analysis was performed between SWSs and pathological findings. Cut‐off values were determined using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results The mean SWS in the BA group was significantly higher than controls (mean ± standard deviation): 1.89 ± 0.45 versus 1.12 ± 0.06 m/s; P < .001). A significant correlation was found between the SWSs and fibrosis stages ( r = 0.719, P < .001). The cut‐off value for predicting significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2), severe fibrosis (F ≥ 3), and cirrhosis (F = 4) was 1.53, 1.80 and 2.16 m/s, respectively, and the area under the ROC curve was 0.823, 0.884 and 0.917, respectively. Conclusions Acoustic radiation force impulse imaging showed significant correlation with the severity of liver fibrosis by comparing it with liver fibrosis biopsy pathology. It may be an effective method for liver fibrosis assessment, prognosis prediction, and clinical management in infants with BA.