Correlation between shear wave elastography and vibration-controlled transient elastography of liver stiffness in chronic hepatitis B infection in Samut Sakhon Hospital

Abstract

Background: Assessment of the liver stiffness to evaluate liver fibrosis in viral hepatitis has been an important factor in the management guideline. Due to limitations of liver biopsy, non-invasive assessments of liver stiffness become a more practical method. Vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) has been widely used for a long time and the newcomer, 2D shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) was claimed to possess a strong correlation. Objective: To assess agreement and correlation of liver stiffness measurement using VCTE and 2D-SWE in patients with viral hepatitis B. Materials and Methods: 34 patients with a laboratory confirmation as viral hepatitis infected were included. Liver stiffness measurements were obtained using 2D-SWE with VCTE serving as the reference standard on the same occasion. The differences of two measurements were demonstrated by both Bland-Altman and scattered plot. We analyzed their mean differences, 95% limit of agreement, and Spearman correlation (rs) coefficient to determine the agreement and the correlation of the 2D-SWE compared to VCTE. Results: For VCTE and 2D-SWE, the median elasticity was 5.35 kPa (IQR 4.57, 6.77) and 6.90 kPa (IQR 6.07, 8.25), respectively. The mean differences of the elasticity of tissue between VCTE and SWE were 0.50 kPa (S.D. 3.25 kPa) and 95% limit of agreement was between -6.87 and 5.87 kPa. There was a strong correlation (rs =0.659) between VCTE and 2D-SWE. Conclusion: In this pilot experience of these two methods, the initial correlation test in real clinical setting has proved a strong measurement correlation between Shear wave elastography and VCTE in hepatitis B patients.