EVALUATION OF LIVER ELASTICITY USING pSWE AND 2D-SWE TECHNIQUES IN HEALTHY CHILDREN

Abstract

Objective
 Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a new
 ultrasonography technique that can non-invasively
 evaluate liver stiffness. The efficacy of SWE in adults
 has been demonstrated by numerous studies, but
 there are few SWE studies of pediatric groups. Since
 the liver stiffness values (LSV) vary according to the
 device and the SWE method used, standard reference
 values have not been established as yet. The aim of
 this study was to establish the reference values of
 normal liver stiffness in healthy children according to
 the two SWE methods.
 Materials and Method
 Liver stiffness values were measured using the two
 different SWE methods of point SWE (pSWE) and
 2-dimensional SWE (2D-SWE) in 107 healthy children
 aged 8-18 years with no liver disease. The pSWE
 (EPQ) and 2D-SWE (EQI) measurements were taken
 in one session on the same device (Philips Epiq Elite)
 and after at least 4 hours of fasting. The effects on
 liver elasticity values were investigated of gender,
 age, body mass index (BMI), some biochemical
 markers (such as fasting blood glucose, aspartate
 aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase
 (ALT), albumin, platelet, INR) and liver size.
 Results
 The mean LSV was 4.04±0.84kPa ((95% confidence
 interval (CI):3.67-4.42)) on pSWE and 4.41±0.71kPa
 (95% CI:4.09-4.72) on 2D-SWE. The upper limit LSVs
 were found to be 4.42kPa and 4.72kPa, respectively.
 The LSVs measured on 2D-SWE were found to be
 higher than on pSWE ((median; min-max, 4.34kPa;
 2.82-6kPa and 3.86kPa; 2.55–5.78, respectively,
 (r=0.59, p