Title: Diagnostic performance of acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in evaluating liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Acoustic radiation force impulse point shear wave elastography (ARFI-pSWE), measuring shear-wave velocity (SWV), has been utilized to examine the liver stiffness caused by different etiologies. However, information on its reliability in staging liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients is scarce. Purpose: The aim of the study is to examine the diagnostic performance of ARFI-pSWE and determine the optimal SWV cut-off values to predict significant fibrosis ( F ≥2) and cirrhosis (F4) in CHB patients. Material and Methods: All 114 adult CHB patients visiting the University Medical Center, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam between February 2019 and March 2021 underwent liver stiffness measurement using ARFI-pSWE and FibroScan. SWV results were tested against FibroScan for sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). The area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve was used to identify the optimal SWV cut-off values. Results: There was a strong agreement between ARFI-pSWE and FibroScan ( r = 0.92, p <0.001). The optimal SWV cut-off value for detecting significant fibrosis was 1.37 m/s with an AUROC of 0.975, sensitivity of 83.3%, specificity of 100%, PPV of 100%, and NPV of 81%. The optimal cut-off value for predicting cirrhosis was 1.70 m/s with an AUROC of 0.986, sensitivity of 97%, specificity of 93%, PPV of 95%, and NPV of 96%. Conclusion: ARFI-pSWE could be an effective technique for evaluating liver fibrosis in CHB patients. SWV cut-off values of 1.37 and 1.70 m/s could be used to diagnose significant fibrosis and cirrhosis, respectively.

Biography

Chuong Dinh Nguyen was born in 1992 in Vietnam. In October of 2016, he received his MD degree from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, and in December of 2019, he received his Internal Medicine resident physician diploma. He is a young gastrointestinal physician with great passion. He is currently the Chief of the Gastrointestinal Motility Unit at University Medical Center Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. In addition to gastrointestinal diseases, his research also focuses on liver fibrosis assessment methods. He was selected for the “Professor Mindie H. Nguyen Award for Outstanding Clinical Research by Early Career Investigators” at the Liver Meeting 2022, organized by American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.