Diagnostic value of virtual touch tissue quantification in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Abstract

Objective To explore the diagnostic value of virtual touch tissue quantification (VTQ) for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Methods VTQ was prospectively performed in 181 patients with chronic hepatitis B and a shear wave velocity (Vs) indirectly reflecting liver stiffness was obtained for each patient. With the gold standards of fibrotic stages and inflammation grades, the relationship between Vs, fibrotic stages and inflammation grades was evaluated. Results A relatively high correlation existed between Vs and liver fibrotic stages (r=0.812, P<0.001). Significant differences existed among groups with different fibrotic stages except for groups S0 vs. S1 and S1 vs. S2 (P<0.05). The areas under the ROC curve were 0.971, 0.961, 0.969 and 0.908 for Vs predicting S≥S1, S≥S2, S≥S3 and S=S4 fibrosis respectively. Moderate correlation existed between Vs and inflammation grades (r=0.476, P=0.000). Conclusion Capable of staging liver fibrosis and preliminarily grading inflammation, VTQ is helpful for the early diagnosis of liver fibrosis and assessment of therapeutic follow-up and prognosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Key words: Ultrasonography; Hepatitis B, chronic; Liver cirrhosis