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Objective: To assess the reproducibility of six ultrasound (US)-determined shear wave (SW) viscoelastography parameters for assessment of mechanical properties of the liver in volunteers and patients with biopsy-proven metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) or metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH)., Methods: This prospective, cross-sectional, institutional review board-approved study included 10 volunteers and 20 patients with MASLD or MASH who underwent liver US elastography twice, at least 2 weeks apart. SW speed (SWS), Young's modulus (E), shear modulus (G), SW attenuation (SWA), SW dispersion (SWD), and viscosity were computed from radiofrequency data recorded on a research US scanner. Linear mixed models were used to consider the sonographer on duty as a confounder. The reproducibility of measurements was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), coefficient of variation (CV), reproducibility coefficient (RDC), and Bland-Altman analyses., Results: The sonographer performing the exam had no impact on viscoelastic parameters (P > .05). ICCs of SWS, E, G, SWA, SWD, and viscosity were, respectively, 0.89 (95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0.79-0.95), 0.81 (95% CI: 0.79-0.95), 0.90 (95% CI: 0.80-0.95), 0.96 (95% CI: 0.93-0.98), 0.78 (95% CI: 0.60-0.89), and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.80-0.95); CVs were 11.9, 23.3, 24.2, 10.1, 29.0, and 32.2%; RDCs were 33.0, 64.5, 66.9, 27.7, 80.3, and 89.2%, and Bland-Altman mean biases and 95% limits of agreement were -0.05 (-0.45, 0.35) m/s, -0.61 (-5.33, 4.10) kPa, -0.25 (-2.06, 1.56) kPa, -0.01 (-0.27, 0.26) Np/m/Hz, -0.09 (-7.09, 6.91) m/s/kHz, and -0.33 (-2.60, 1.94) Pa/s, between the two visits., Conclusion: US-determined viscoelastography parameters can be measured with high reproducibility and consistency between two visits 2 weeks apart on the same ultrasound machine., (© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine.)

Purpose: Prior studies have described complications of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) of liver tumours. The aim of this study was to identify risk factors for hospitalization duration longer than 24 hours following RFA of liver tumours., Methods: This retrospective, single-centre study included patients with liver tumours undergoing RFA between October 2017 and July 2020. Medical records were reviewed to collect patient, tumours, and procedure characteristics for each RFA session. The association between potential risk factors and duration of hospitalization (less than or more than 24 hours) was analyzed using univariate and multivariate logistic regressions., Results: Our study included 291 patients (mean age: 65.2 ± 11.2 [standard deviation]; 201 men) undergoing 324 RFA sessions. Sixty-eight sessions (21.0%) resulted in hospitalization of more than 24 hours. Multivariate analysis identified each additional needle insertion per session (OR 1.4; 95% CI [1.1-1.9]; P  = .02), RFA performed in segment V (OR 2.8; 95% CI [1.4-5.7]; P  = .004), and use of artificial pneumothorax (OR 14.5; 95% CI [1.4-146.0]; P  = .02) as potential risk factors. A history of hepatic encephalopathy (OR 2.6; 95% CI [1.1-6.0]; P  = .03) was only significant in univariate analysis. Post-hoc, subgroup analysis of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (69.8%) did not identify other risk factors., Conclusion: Risk factors for a hospitalization duration longer than 24 hours include a higher number of needle insertions per session, radiofrequency ablation in segment V, and use of an artificial pneumothorax., Competing Interests: Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.