Evaluation of acute rejection after liver transplantation with acoustic radiation force impulse and color Doppler flow imaging

Abstract

Objective To investigate the value of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) and color Doppler flow imaging (CDFI) in the diagnostic of acute rejection (AR) after liver transplantation. Methods B mode ultrasound, CDFI and ARFI exams were performed on fifty-eight patients who was diagnosed with AR through liver biopsy in our hospital. The liver allograft size, mean velocity of portal vein, hepatic vein spectrum waveform and shear-wave velocity were obtained and compared with the results of 30 healthy subjects as control group. Results Compare to control group, the AR group had a significant increase in liver allograft, decrease in mean velocity of portal vein, the elimination of triphasic wave of hepatic vein, and a significant increase in shear-wave velocity (P=0.000, 0.000, 0.007, 0.000, respectively). The correlation coefficient between four criteria and grouping was 0.478, 0.557, 0.286, 0.483, respectively. The area under ROC curves for diagnosing AR using the four criterias mentioned above was 0.914. Conclusions Combination of CDFI and ARFI in diagnosing of AR after liver transplantation has higher sensitivity and accuracy. Key words: Ultrasonography; Liver transplantation; Transplant rejection; Acoustic radiation force impulse technique