Non-invasive diagnosis of cirrhosis and long-term disease monitoring by transient elastography in patients with Wilson disease.

Abstract

Background & AimsThe value of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography (TE) for non‐invasive fibrosis staging and disease monitoring has not been established in patients with Wilson disease (WD).MethodsLiver stiffness measurement by TE and non‐invasive fibrosis scores (APRI, FIB‐4) were analysed from 188 WD patients with liver biopsy (LBX). Longitudinal LSM was performed in 128 (68.1%) patients.ResultsOne hundred and eighty‐eight patients (mean age: 35 ± 14 years, 54.8% women; 27.1% with histological cirrhosis) were studied. Forty‐four[23.4%] patients were recently diagnosed with WD, while 144[76.6%] were previously diagnosed (>1 year between LBX and LSM). Overall, LSM (11.3 vs 6.1 kPa, P < .001), APRI (0.72 vs 0.38, P < .001) and FIB‐4 (1.54 vs 0.89, P < .001) were higher in cirrhotic than in non‐cirrhotic patients. This was even more pronounced in recently diagnosed patients (35.2 kPa vs 6.4 kPa, P < .001). Accuracy for diagnosing cirrhosis at an LSM cut‐off ≥9.9 kPa was better in recently diagnosed (PPV: 74%, NPV: 100%) vs previously diagnosed (PPV: 53%, NPV: 82%) patients. Recently diagnosed patients had higher Area Under the Curve (AUC) for APRI (0.79 vs 0.61) and FIB‐4 (0.84 vs 0.65) than previously diagnosed patients. At APRI <1.5 and FIB‐4 <3.25 cirrhosis was ruled out with a specificity of 93% and 95% respectively. During a median follow‐up of 46 (24‐66) months, only 5.9% (5/85) of non‐cirrhotic WD patients showed progression to cirrhotic LSM values, while 30.8% (4/13) of cirrhotic WD patients showed LSM suggestive of cirrhosis regression.ConclusionTE‐based LSM ≥9.9 kPa accurately identifies cirrhosis in WD patients. Next to TE‐LSM <9.9 kPa, APRI <1.5 and FIB‐4 <3.25 values assist to non‐invasively rule out cirrhosis. LSM remains stable in most non‐cirrhotic patients on WD therapy, while one‐third of cirrhotic patients present clinically relevant decreases in LSM.