Comparison of Sound Touch Elastography, Sound Touch Quantify, and 4 Serum Fibrosis Indexes for the Diagnosis of Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B

Abstract

The aim of this research was to compare the use of shear wave elastography (sound touch elastography [STE] and sound touch quantify [STQ]) and serum liver fibrosis indexes in the evaluation and staging of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) liver fibrosis. Sound touch elastography is a form of 2-dimensional shear wave elastography, and STQ is a form of point shear wave elastography. Between June 2018 and March 2019, 122 patients with CHB were assessed using STE and STQ. Serum liver biomarkers tests were undertaken, and liver biopsy was performed, and these were used to assign a pathological stage based on the Scheuer scoring system. A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to analyze the diagnostic value of noninvasive methods for evaluating and staging liver fibrosis. The cutoff values of STE for liver fibrosis stages S2 to S4 were 8.85, 9.97, and 10.29 kPa, respectively, and the areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUCs) curve were 0.703, 0.821, and 0.900, respectively. The cutoff values of STQ for liver fibrosis stages S2 to S4 were 11.31, 13.81, and 20.60 kPa, respectively, and the AUCs were 0.674, 0.807, and 0.893, respectively. The AUCs of STE and STQ in diagnosing fibrosis stage were significantly higher than those of liver serum biomarkers (P < 0.05). The AUCs for the ability of the aspartate transaminase-toplatelet ratio index, the fibrosis index based on the 4 factors, the King score, and the Forns index to diagnose S2 fibrosis were 0.502, 0.624, 0.542, and 0.616, respectively, and the AUCs for their ability to diagnose S4 fibrosis were 0.856, 0.861, 0.883, and 0.823, respectively. Both STE and STQ are noninvasive methods for the assessment of liver fibrosis in CHB patients, with better diagnostic performances than those of 4 serum fibrosis indexes.

Ultrasound score combined with liver stiffness measurement by sound touch elastography for staging liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B: a clinical prospective study

“…A variety of methods have been developed to stage liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) (2); however, most of these methods are limited by complications or inaccuracies (3)(4)(5). The gold standard for liver fibrosis staging, liver biopsy, is an invasive method that can result in complications such as hemorrhage, infection, and pain (6,7), leading to patient reluctance in consenting to the procedure. Therefore, noninvasive methods such as liver ultrasound (US) and ultrasound elastography (USE) have been proposed as an alternative means of assessing liver fibrosis.…”

Use of Sound Touch Elastography and Sound Touch Quantification for the Noninvasive Evaluation of Portal Hypertension in a Rat Model

“…14 The performance of STE and/or STQ in the staging of fibrosis in liver diseases of different etiologies has been evaluated. 12,[14][15][16][17][18][19] In a prospective multicenter study, Wang et al 14 demonstrated that STE and STQ detect liver stiffness reliably and are thus valuable for the noninvasive evaluation of liver fibrosis. Yang et al 15 recently reported that STE performs better than serological testing in the diagnosis and staging of liver fibrosis.…”

“…The performance of STE and/or STQ in the staging of fibrosis in liver diseases of different etiologies has been evaluated 12,14–19 . In a prospective multicenter study, Wang et al 14 demonstrated that STE and STQ detect liver stiffness reliably and are thus valuable for the noninvasive evaluation of liver fibrosis.…”