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Purpose: Liver histology has prognostic relevance and is used in surveillance and therapeutic strategies. This longitudinal study was designed to evaluate the prognostic relevance of ARFI elastography in comparison to liver histology and to the FIB-4 score in a 5-year observation interval., Materials and Methods: Based on the hospital database, patients with an elastography examination of the liver between 2010-2012, a liver biopsy, and a follow-up of 5 years were included in the study. The AUROCs of the events liver-related death, HCC, and liver decompensation/variceal bleeding were calculated for ARFI elastography, liver histology, and FIB-4 and compared using the DeLong test., Results: In the final analysis 113 patients were included with 30 (26.5 %) patients having high-grade fibrosis and 19 (16.8 %) having liver cirrhosis in histology. The AUROC for liver-related death in the 5-year interval (9.7 %, n=11) was 0.80 [0.68-0.92] for ARFI elastography, 0.79 [0.66-0.92] for liver histology, and 0.66 [0.53-0.79] for FIB-4 with a p-value of 0.83 comparing ARFI to histology and a p-value of 0.02 comparing ARFI to FIB-4. The AUROC for liver decompensation/variceal bleeding (13.3 %, n=15) was 0.86 [0.76-0.94] for ARFI, which is significantly higher than the AUROC of liver histology with 0.71 [0.56-0.86] (p=0.02) and FIB-4 with 0.67 [0.54-0.80] (p=0.003). There was no significant difference for the event HCC when comparing ARFI to histology (p=0.33) or FIB-4 (p=0.14)., Conclusion: The prognostic value of ARFI elastography seems to not be inferior to liver histology regarding liver-related survival and might even outperform histology and the FIB-4 score for predicting some liver-related complications., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Purpose: Shear wave dispersion imaging is a novel ultrasound-based technique, which analyzes the speed of different shear wave components depending on their frequency. The dispersion of shear wave speed correlates with the viscosity of the liver parenchyma. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the use of shear wave dispersion imaging in focal liver lesions in the non-cirrhotic liver., Methods: Patients with unclear focal liver lesions in B-mode ultrasound were prospectively assigned to shear wave dispersion imaging (m/s/kHz). Measurements were conducted within the lesion and in the liver parenchyma of the right liver lobe using an intercostal window. Histology and contrast-enhanced ultrasound served as the reference for the characterization of the lesions., Results: Out of 46 patients included in this study, 24 had liver metastases and 22 had benign liver lesions. Benign lesions consisted mostly of hemangiomas (n=12) and focal nodular hyperplasia (n=8). Malignant lesions showed significantly lower shear wave dispersion (13.0±2.45 m/s/kHz) compared to benign tumors (15.2±2.74 m/s/kHz, p<0.01). In further subgroup analysis, the difference was significant for hemangiomas (15.32±2.42 m/s/kHz, p=0.04) but not for FNHs (14.98±3.36 m/s/kHz, p=0.38). The dispersion of reference liver parenchyma did not differ significantly between the groups (p=0.54)., Conclusion: The quantification of viscosity by shear wave dispersion is a new parameter for the characterization of focal liver lesions with higher dispersion values in hemangiomas and lower dispersion values in metastases. However, it cannot differentiate reliably between benign and malignant lesions., Competing Interests: D. Jesper and B. Schellhaas have received speaker honorarium from Canon Medical Systems., (Thieme. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Histological alterations in primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) are heterogeneously distributed throughout the liver. Thus, the quality of histological staging is probably dependent on the available amount of liver tissue. The goals of this study were to test this hypothesis and to define biopsy conditions for obtaining sufficient tissue., Methods: In this retrospective analysis, we investigated 34 patient cases who fulfilled the criteria of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) for PBC and underwent a mini-laparoscopic liver biopsy between 2011 and 2018 using 16 or 18G needles. For histological assessment of fibrosis, we used the Ishak score, and the amount of tissue was measured by the number of portal fields. Histological staging was compared with the macroscopic mini-laparoscopic fibrosis score (MLFS), and non-invasive liver stiffness measurements using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging and the FIB-4 score., Results: Biopsy was successful in 33 of 34 patients (97%). Fibrosis assessment by MLFS and ARFI correlated strongly with each other (r = 0.7088, p = 0.000017). However, the correlation of both methods with the histological staging was weaker (MLFS vs. histology: r = 0.4231, p = 0.0142; ARFI vs. histology: r = 0.3564, p = 0.0577). The correlation of ARFI and MLFS with the histological staging was better in the subgroup of biopsies with at least 10 portal fields (= SG≥10PF) (MLFS vs. histology: r = 0.6369, p = 0.006; ARFI vs. histology: r = 0.7538, p = 0.0012). FIB-4 correlated weakly with the histological staging, which was statistically not significant (all samples: r = 0.2693, p = 0.1296; SG≥10PF: r = 0.2244, p = 0.3866). The number of portal fields correlated well with the length of the samples (r = 0.6436, p = 0.00012). The probability to attain at least 10 portal fields depended on the needle diameter and number of samples (1 × 16G or 18G [n = 10]: 30.0%; 2 × 18G [n = 15]: 53.3%; 2 × 16G [n = 5]: 100%; p = 0.0414)., Conclusion: ARFI and MLFS are probably well suited for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with PBC. A minimum of 10 portal fields could improve the histological assessment in PBC and can probably be achieved by obtaining two 16G biopsies., (© 2020 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Introduction: Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography evaluates hepatic fibrosis non-invasively and has been mainly validated in viral hepatitis. Data on rare liver diseases such as autoimmune hepatitis (AIH), overlap syndrome, primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) or primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) are sparse., Material and Methods: 85 patients (including 31 AIH, 26 PBC, 16 PSC and 3 PSC-and 9 PBC-AIH-overlap syndromes) were retrospectively analysed pointing at ARFI elastography of the liver and the correlation with histologic Ishak fibrosis score (F0-6). Results of shear wave velocities (m/s) were expressed as mean ± standard deviation., Results: The mean shear wave velocity of all 85 patients showed 1.80 ± 0.84 m/s (0.74-3.98). The ARFI elastography values correlated with the degree of fibrosis in all patients overall and in patients with AIH, overlap syndrome and PSC, respectively. The subgroup of 26 patients with PBC (only with Ishak F > 3) revealed no correlation between ARFI and these early fibrosis stages (r = 0.019, p = 0.927). ARFI elastography correlated with bilirubin, AST, but not with patient age, body mass index or measurement depth. The cut-off of 2.04 m/s for detecting cirrhosis (Ishak F > 5) leads to a sensitivity of 90.0% and specificity of 74.7% (AUROC 87.2%)., Conclusion: ARFI elastography can evaluate fibrosis in AIH, PSC and PSC-/PBC-AIH-overlap syndrome with good accuracy for the detection of hepatic cirrhosis. Shear wave velocities in PBC should be interpreted with caution in early stages of fibrosis., (Copyright © 2019 Fundación Clínica Médica Sur, A.C. Published by Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Two-dimensional shear-wave elastography (2D-SWE) is an ultrasound-based technique for the noninvasive assessment of tissue stiffness. In contrast to the well-established point-shear-wave elastography (pSWE) method acoustic radiation force impulse imaging, there is little evidence on the performance and usefulness of 2D-SWE in the assessment of liver stiffness. Thus, the aim of our study was to compare 2D-SWE versus pSWE., Materials and Methods: 2D-SWE and pSWE were performed in 20 cirrhotic patients, 20 healthy individuals and an elasticity phantom. Stiffness values, examination time and number of measurements were compared. For 2D-SWE, the influence of size of the region of interest (ROI) was assessed., Results: Elastography values in healthy individuals were slightly higher for 2D-SWE versus pSWE (1.4 m/s, range: 1.21-1.68 vs. 1.23 m/s, range: 1.07-1.39). In cirrhotic patients, there were no significant differences (3.06 m/s, range: 1.83-5.35 vs. 3 m/s, range: 1.67-4.37 m/s). Examination times were significantly longer for 2D-SWE in both patient groups (mean values for healthy/cirrhotic patients: 129.6/157.1 vs. 75/71.6 s). For 2D-SWE, variation of ROI size (5, 10, 20 mm) produced comparable results. After eight measurements, 90% of cirrhotic patients showed less than 5% of deviation from the results after the gold standard of 10 measurements; for healthy individuals, this was observed after six measurements., Conclusion: 2D-SWE seems to be comparable to pSWE (acoustic radiation force impulse-imaging) in cirrhotic patients, with slightly higher values in healthy individuals. 2D-SWE measurements require considerably more time. For 2D-SWE, ROI size seems to be of minor importance; multiple measurements should be obtained as single measurements differ. These preliminary results should be confirmed in larger patient collectives with histology as the reference standard.

Background and Aims: The aim of this study was to compare acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography with other noninvasive tests and to develop a new score for the assessment of liver fibrosis/cirrhosis., Materials and Methods: B-mode ultrasound (including high-frequency liver surface evaluation), routine blood tests, ARFI quantification, and mini-laparoscopic liver evaluation were obtained in compensated patients scheduled for mini-laparoscopic biopsy. Our new cirrhosis score (CS) for the assessment of liver cirrhosis, based on a linear combination of ARFI, platelet (PLT), liver surface, and prothrombin index (PI), was calculated by linear discriminant analysis. Its performance was compared with ARFI-elastography, APRI, FIB-4, alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-ratio, PLT, and PI. For the diagnosis of cirrhosis, a combined gold standard (cirrhosis at histology and/or at macroscopic liver evaluation) was used., Results: In total, 171 patients, of whom 38 had compensated cirrhosis, were included. The CS was significantly better for the diagnosis of cirrhosis compared with ARFI (P=0.028), APRI (P=0.012), PLTs (P=0.013), PI (P=0.025), and ALT/AST ratio (P=0.001), but not the FIB-4 score (P=0.207), with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.92 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.87-0.97], 0.86 (95% CI:0.79-0.93), 0.80 (95% CI: 0.72-0.87), 0.79 (95% CI: 0.7-0.87), 0.81 (95% CI: 0.73-0.89), 0.72 (95% CI:0.64-0.81), and 0.86 (95% CI: 0.8-0.93), respectively. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value for CS were 87%, 86%, 63%, and 96%, respectively. The FIB-4 score was significantly superior to the APRI score (P=0.041) and the ALT/AST ratio (P=0.011), with no significant difference from ARFI elastography (P=0.88) for the diagnosis of cirrhosis., Conclusion: Combining ARFI elastography with other noninvasive tests that are used routinely in the workup of patients with suspected liver disease can improve diagnostic accuracy for compensated liver cirrhosis as compared with ARFI elastography alone. The FIB-4 score showed an overall comparable diagnostic accuracy to ARFI-elastography for compensated cirrhosis.

Introduction: Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) elastography evaluates tissue stiffness non-invasively and has rarely been applied to pancreas examinations so far. In a prospective and retrospective analysis, ARFI shear wave velocities of healthy parenchyma, pancreatic lipomatosis, acute and chronic pancreatitis, adenocarcinoma and neuroendocrine tumor (NET) of the pancreas were evaluated and compared., Material and Methods: In 95 patients ARFI elastography of the pancreatic head, and also of the tail for a specific group, was analysed retrospectively. Additionally, prospectively in 100 patients ARFI was performed in the head and tail of the pancreas., Results: A total of 195 patients were included in the study. Healthy parenchyma (n=21) and lipomatosis (n=30) showed similar shear wave velocities of about 1.3m/s. Acute pancreatitis (n=35), chronic pancreatitis (n=53) and adenocarcinoma (n=52) showed consecutively increasing ARFI values, respectively. NET (n=4) revealed the highest shear wave velocities amounting to 3.62m/s. ARFI elastography showed relevant differences between acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis or adenocarcinoma. With a cut-off value of 1.74m/s for the diagnosis of a malignant disease the sensitivity was 91.1% whereas the specificity amounted to 60.4%., Conclusion: ARFI shear wave velocities present differences in various pathologies of the pancreas. Acute and chronic pancreatitis as well as neoplastic lesions show high ARFI values. Very high elasticity values may indicate malignant disease of the pancreas. However, there is a considerable overlap between the entities., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastometry quantifies hepatic stiffness, and thus degree of fibrosis, non-invasively. Our aim was to analyse the diagnostic accuracy of ARFI cut-off values, and the significance of a defined limit of standard deviation (SD) as a potential quality parameter for liver fibrosis staging in patients with chronic liver diseases (CLD)., Material and Methods: 153 patients with CLD (various aetiologies) undergoing liver biopsy, and an additional 25 patients with known liver cirrhosis, were investigated. ARFI measurements were performed in the right hepatic lobe, and correlated with the histopathological Ludwig fibrosis score (inclusion criteria: at least 6 portal tracts). The diagnostic accuracy of cut-off values was analysed with respect to an SD limit of 30% of the mean ARFI value., Results: The mean ARFI elastometry showed 1.95 ± 0.87 m/s (range 0.79-4.40) in 178 patients (80 female, 98 male, mean age: 52 years). The cut-offs were 1.25 m/s for F ≥ 2, 1.72 m/s for F ≥ 3 and 1.75 m/s for F = 4, and the corresponding AUROC 80.7%, 86.2% and 88.7%, respectively. Exclusion of 31 patients (17.4%) with an SD higher than 30% of the mean ARFI improved the diagnostic accuracy: The AUROC for F ≥ 2, F ≥ 3 and F = 4 were 86.1%, 91.2% and 91.5%, respectively., Conclusion: The diagnostic accuracy of ARFI can be improved by applying a maximum SD of 30% of the mean ARFI as a quality parameter--which however leads to an exclusion of a relevant number of patients. ARFI results with a high SD should be interpreted with caution.