Point Shear Wave Elastography for Non-invasive Assessment of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Viral Hepatitis

Elastography point quantification (ElastPQ) is a new ultrasound-based shear wave elastography method for non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of ElastPQ in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. Fibrosis stage (F) was determined by transient elastography (F0/F1: <7.1 kPa, F2: 7.1–9.4 kPa, F3: 9.5–12.4 kPa, F4: ≥12.5 kPa). Area under the receiver operator characteristics curve (AUROC) analysis was performed to assess ElastPQ cutoffs for significant fibrosis (≥F2) and cirrhosis (F4). Paired transient elastography and ElastPQ measurements were obtained from 217 patients (mean age ± SEM: 49 ± 0.79 years, 68.2% male, F0/F1: n?=?98 [45.0%], F2: 47 [21.6%], F3: 22 [10.1%], F4: 50 [22.9%]). AUROC for ≥F2 was 0.843 (95% confidence interval: 0.791–0.895), and for F4, 0.933 (95% confidence interval: 0.894–0.972). The optimal ElastPQ cutoff for F2 was 6.68 kPa (sensitivity: 80.7%, specificity: 70.4%, positive predictive value: 78.5%, negative predictive value: 72.3%), and for F4 11.28 kPa (sensitivity: 86.0%, specificity: 85.6%, positive predictive value: 60.52%, negative predictive value: 97.16%). In conclusion, ElastPQ represents an accurate tool for non-invasive staging of liver fibrosis in patients with viral hepatitis.     

Value of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging Elastography for Non-invasive Evaluation of Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The goals of the work described here were to evaluate the clinical utility of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography in differentiating non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) histologic subtypes and to determine if ARFI elastography measurements correlate with the severity of liver fibrosis. We compared ARFI elastography measurements with clinical, biologic and histologic features (simple steatosis or steatohepatitis) in 64 patients with histologically proven NAFLD. ARFI elastography is suitable for distinguishing patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis from those with simple steatosis, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.867 (95% confidence interval = 0.782–0.953). There was a highly significant correlation (r = 0.843) between ARFI elastography measurements and fibrosis (p < 0.001). In patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, the diagnostic performance of ARFI elastography in predicting significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2) had an AUROC of 0.944. ARFI elastography better predicted F = 4 fibrosis (AUROC = 0.984). In conclusion, ARFI elastography is a promising method for differentiating patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis from patients with simple steatosis and can also predict significant fibrosis in these patients.     

Evaluation of Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Using Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging Elastography in Rat Models

The aim of this study is to evaluate the utility of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography for assessing hepatic fibrosis stage and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) severity, as well as the relationship among hepatic histologic changes using shear wave velocity (SWV). Animal models with various degrees of NAFLD were established in 110 rats. The right liver lobe was processed and embedded in a fabricated gelatin solution (porcine skin). Liver mechanics were measured using SWV induced by acoustic radiation force. Among the histologic findings, liver elasticity could be used to differentiate normal rats from rats with simple steatosis (SS) as well as distinguish SS from non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) of 0.963 (95% confidence interval = 0.871–0.973) and 0.882 (95% confidence interval = 0.807–0.956), respectively. For NAFLD rats, the diagnostic performance of ARFI elastography in predicting significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2) had an AUROC of 0.963. For evaluating steatosis severity, we found a progressive increase in ARFI velocity proportional to steatotic severity in NAFLD rat models, but we observed no significant differences for steatotic severity after excluding the rats with fibrosis. ARFI elastography may be used to differentiate among degrees of severity of NAFLD and hepatic fibrotic stages in NAFLD rat models.     

声脉冲辐射力成像联合瞬时弹性成像对炎性肝纤维化的诊断价值

目的评估声脉冲辐射力成像（ARFI）技术联合瞬时弹性成像（TE）技术对慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）肝纤维化的诊断价值。 方法选取2015年10月至2017年6月在哈尔滨医科大学附属第四医院就诊的121例CHB患者，进行肝脏穿刺活检、常规生化检查、ARFI及TE检查。采用方差分析比较肝纤维化各组的年龄、AST、ALT、ARFI值及TE值，进一步比较采用SNK-q检验，并与病理结果做相关性分析。以肝纤维化病理学分期为"金标准"，采用工作特征曲线（ROC）对比分析ARFI及TE技术对CHB肝纤维化分期的准确性，并应用Logistic回归进行联合诊断的风险预测，并通过预测值绘制ROC曲线，比较ARFI、TE及两者联合对肝纤维化S≥1期及S≥2期的诊断价值。 结果ARFI及TE值均与肝纤维化分期具有较好的正相关性（r=0.789、0.845，P均<0.0001）。ARFI及TE技术诊断肝纤维化S≥1期的AUROC分别为0.849及0.903（P=0.424）；S≥2期的AUROC分别为0.874及0.923（P=0.191）；S≥3期的AUROC分别为0.938及0.954（P=0.526）；S=4期的AUROC分别为0.913及0.926 （P=0.842）。ARFI及TE技术联合诊断肝纤维化S≥1期的AUROC为0.925，与两者单独诊断相比，差异均无统计学意义（P均>0.05），但联合后的敏感度、特异度及准确性均提高；联合诊断S≥2期的AUROC为0.949，与两者单独诊断相比，仅优于ARFI的单独诊断，差异有统计学意义（P=0.009），但联合后的敏感度及准确性均有所提高。 结论ARFI技术联合TE技术有助于提高肝纤维化S≥1期及S≥2期的诊断。     

Comparison of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging and Transient Elastography for Non-invasive Assessment of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B

The aims of this study were to compare the performance of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography and transient elastography (TE) in the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B and to evaluate the impact of elevated alanine transaminase levels on liver stiffness assessment using ARFI elastography. One hundred eighty consecutive patients with chronic hepatitis B were enrolled in this study and evaluated with respect to histologic and biochemical features. All patients underwent ARFI elastography and TE. ARFI elastography and TE correlated significantly with histologically assessed fibrosis (r = 0.599, p < 0.001, for ARFI elastography; r = 0.628, p < 0.001, for TE) and necro-inflammatory activity (r = 0.591, p < 0.001, for ARFI elastography; r = 0.616, p < 0.001, for TE). Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for ARFI elastography and TE were 0.764 and 0.813 (p = 0.302, ≥stage 2), 0.852 and 0.852 (p = 1.000, ≥stage 3) and 0.825 and 0.799 (p = 0.655, S = 4), respectively. The optimum cutoff values for ARFI elastography were 1.63 m/s for stage ≥2, 1.74 m/s for stage ≥3 and 2.00 m/s for stage 4 in patients for whom alanine transaminase levels were evaluated. The cutoff values decreased to 1.24 m/s for ≥ stage 2, 1.32 m/s for ≥ stage 3 and 1.41 m/s for stage 4 in patients with normal alanine transaminase levels. ARFI elastography may be a reliable method for diagnosing the stage of liver fibrosis with diagnostic performance similar to that of TE in patients with chronic hepatitis B. In addition, liver stiffness values obtained with ARFI elastography, like those obtained with TE, may be influenced by alanine transaminase levels.     

Non-invasive Assessment of Liver Fibrosis with ElastPQ: Comparison with Transient Elastography and Serologic Fibrosis Marker Tests,and Correlation with Liver Pathology Results

We investigated the feasibility of using ultrasound shear wave elastography point quantification (ElastPQ) for liver fibrosis staging and compared it with other non-invasive tools with respect to efficacy in liver stiffness measurement. A total of 106 patients who underwent liver stiffness measurements, using ElastPQ and biochemical investigations, before parenchymal liver biopsy or surgery were included. Among these, 51 also underwent transient elastography (TE). Correlations of ElastPQ, TE and aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) with histopathological findings (as the reference standard) were determined using Spearman's correlation coefficient. The diagnostic performance of ElastPQ, TE and APRI was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. ElastPQ had good diagnostic accuracy in identifying each liver fibrosis stage, with an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.810 to 0.864. Stiffness values obtained using ElastPQ, TE and APRI were significantly positively correlated (r = 0.686, r = 0.732 and r = 0.454, respectively) with histologic fibrosis staging (p < 0.001). According to the AUC for the diagnosis of significant fibrosis (≥F2) and cirrhosis (=F4), ElastPQ had better diagnostic accuracy (AUC = 0.929 and 0.834, respectively) than APRI (AUC = 0.656 and 0.618, respectively) (p < 0.05), and was similar to TE (AUC = 0.915 and 0.879, respectively). ElastPQ is a promising ultrasound-based imaging technique for evaluation of liver fibrosis, with a diagnostic accuracy comparable to that of TE.     

Factors Which Influence the Accuracy of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) Elastography for the Diagnosis of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C

Our study tried to identify the factors associated with discordance between liver stiffness values assessed by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography and histologic fibrosis in 106 chronic hepatitis C patients. Liver biopsy (LB) and ARFI measurements were performed in the same session. A discordance of at least two stages of fibrosis in the Metavir scoring system between ARFI results and LB was defined as significant. The performance of ARFI elastography was assessed using the following cut-offs: F1-1.19 m/s, F2-1.34 m/s, F3-1.55 m/s and F4-1.80 m/s. Discordance of at least two stages of fibrosis between ARFI results and histologic assessment were observed in 31.7% of the patients. In an univariate analysis, female sex (p = 0.004), interquartile range interval (IQR) ≥30% (p = 0.04), high alanine aminotransferases (p = 0.008) and high aspartate aminotransferases levels (p = 0.003) were associated with discordances. In a multivariate analysis, the female sex (p = 0.006) and IQR ≥30% (p = 0.004) were associated with discordances. Therefore, IQR parameter should be used for ARFI measurements.     

Diagnostic Accuracy of 2-D Shear Wave Elastography for the Non-Invasive Staging of Liver Fibrosis in Patients with Elevated Alanine Aminotransferase Levels

This study assessed the diagnostic accuracy of 2-D shear wave elastography (2-D-SWE) for the non-invasive staging of liver fibrosis and compared the findings with those for biochemical markers (the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet index and fibrosis-4 index) of liver fibrosis in patients with elevated alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels (>5?×?the upper limit of normal). Patients with chronic liver diseases and elevated ALT levels who underwent liver biopsy were consecutively included. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to assess overall accuracy and to identify optimal cutoff values. After exclusions, data from 105 patients were analyzed. The areas under the ROC curves (AUROCs) for significant fibrosis, severe fibrosis and cirrhosis were 0.83, 0.86 and 0.91, respectively. The optimal cutoff values for predicting significant fibrosis, severe fibrosis and cirrhosis were 10.6, 13.2 and 17.6?kPa, respectively. The AUROCs of 2-D-SWE were significantly higher than those of biochemical markers for predicting significant fibrosis, severe fibrosis and cirrhosis (all p values?<?0.05). Therefore, the diagnostic performance of 2-D-SWE in assessing liver fibrosis stages in patients with elevated ALT levels was promising. The optimal cutoff values were increased but appropriate for this cohort because the baseline levels of liver stiffness measurements were increased in these patients, even in the absence of fibrosis.     

声触诊弹性成像不同取值方法诊断肝纤维化的对比分析

目的探讨声触诊弹性成像(STE)两种取值方法诊断慢性乙型肝炎(CHB)肝纤维化的应用价值。方法对122例CHB患者行STE检查,获得各病理分期肝弹性模量值的均值和中位数,计算均值、中位数两种取值方法与病理分期的相关系数;绘制受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线分析两种取值方法对肝纤维化的诊断效能,比较曲线下面积的差异。结果均值、中位数两种取值方法的弹性模量值在各病理分期间比较差异均有统计学意义(F=36.894、28.667,均P<0.001);均值、中位数两种取值方法与病理分期均呈正相关(r=0.641、0.598,均P<0.001)。以均值为取值方法诊断肝纤维化≥S2期及S4期的曲线下面积稍高于以中位数为取值的方法,差异均无统计学意义;以均值为取值方法诊断肝纤维化≥S3期的曲线下面积高于以中位数为取值的方法,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论 STE诊断CHB患者肝纤维化具有一定的应用价值,选择肝弹性模量值均值为检查参数较中位数的诊断价值更高。     

A New Multimodel Machine Learning Framework to Improve Hepatic Fibrosis Grading Using Ultrasound Elastography Systems from Different Vendors

The purpose of the work described here was to determine if the diagnostic performance of point and 2-D shear wave elastography (pSWE; 2-DSWE) using shear wave velocity (SWV) with a new machine learning (ML) technique applied to systems from different vendors is comparable to that of magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) in distinguishing non-significant (<F2) from significant (≥F2) fibrosis. We included two patient groups with liver disease: (i) 144 patients undergoing pSWE (Siemens) and MRE; and (ii) 60 patients undergoing 2-DSWE (Philips) and MRE. Four ML algorithms using 10 SWV measurements as inputs were trained with MRE. Results were validated using twofold cross-validation. The performance of median SWV in binary grading of fibrosis was moderate for pSWE (area under the curve [AUC]: 0.76) and 2-DSWE (0.84); the ML algorithm support vector machine (SVM) performed particularly well (pSWE: 0.96, 2-DSWE: 0.99). The results suggest that the multivendor ML-based algorithm SVM can binarily grade liver fibrosis using ultrasound elastography with excellent diagnostic performance, comparable to that of MRE.     

Comparison of 2-D Shear Wave Elastography and Point Shear Wave Elastography for Assessing Liver Fibrosis

Progressive liver fibrosis may result in cirrhosis, portal hypertension and increased risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. We performed a meta-analysis to compare liver fibrosis staging in chronic liver disease patients using 2-D shear wave elastography (2-D SWE) and point shear wave elastography (pSWE). The PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane Library databases were searched until May 31, 2020 for studies evaluating the diagnostic performance of 2-D SWE and pSWE in assessing liver fibrosis. Pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratios, diagnostic odds ratios and area under receiver operating characteristic curve were estimated using the bivariate random effects model. As a result, 71 studies with 11,345 patients were included in the analysis. The pooled sensitivities of 2-D SWE and pSWE significantly differed for the detection of significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2; 0.84 vs. 0.76, p < 0.001) and advanced fibrosis (F ≥ 3; 0.90 vs. 0.83, p = 0.003), but not for detection of cirrhosis (F = 4; 0.89 vs. 0.85, p = 0.090). The pooled specificities of 2-D SWE and pSWE did not significantly differ for detection of F ≥ 2 (0.81 vs. 0.79, p = 0.753), F ≥ 3 (0.87 vs. 0.83, p = 0.163) or F = 4 (0.87 vs. 0.84, p = 0.294). Both 2-D SWE and pSWE have high sensitivity and specificity for detecting each stage of liver fibrosis. Two-dimensional SWE has higher sensitivity than pSWE for detection of significant fibrosis and advanced fibrosis.     

Assessing Hepatic Fibrosis Using 2-D Shear Wave Elastography in Patients with Liver Tumors: A Prospective Single-Center Study

The purpose of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of 2-D shear wave elastography (2-D-SWE) in evaluations of liver stiffness in patients with liver tumors before resection. A total of 121 consecutive patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) (n = 93), intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (n = 6), mixed hepatocellular carcinoma and intra-hepatic cholangiocarcinoma (n = 6), liver metastases (n = 10) and benign tumors (n = 6) were prospectively enrolled in this study from June 2015 to March 2016. Three valid 2-D-SWE measurements for each patient and median liver stiffness values were calculated. Fibrosis staging was evaluated according to the METAVIR scoring system. A receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to assess diagnostic performance. In this study, we found that median liver stiffness values were significantly higher in patients with primary liver tumors than in those with liver metastases and benign tumors (11.80 kPa vs. 5.85 kPa, p < 0.001). In addition, liver stiffness, assessed using 2-D-SWE, was highly correlated with pathologically confirmed liver fibrosis stage. Liver fibrosis stage and liver stiffness values were analyzed using Spearman's correlation (0.708, p < 0.001). The median liver stiffness values were as follows: F1, 6.7 kPa; F2, 6.33 kPa; F3, 9.2 kPa; F4, 13.7 kPa. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the liver stiffness values that predicted significant fibrosis (≥F2), severe fibrosis (≥F3) and cirrhosis (=F4) were 83.5%, 91.6% and 88.1%, respectively. According to the Youden index, the optimal cutoff values for predicting significant fibrosis (≥F2), severe fibrosis (≥F3) and cirrhosis (=F4) were 7.05 kPa (sensitivity = 74.6%, specificity = 100.0%), 9.45 kPa (sensitivity = 78.8%, specificity = 100.0%) and 11.1 kPa (sensitivity = 83.1%, specificity = 89.3%), respectively. We conclude that 2-D-SWE is a useful, accurate and non-invasive method for evaluating hepatic fibrosis in patients with liver tumors adapted to hepatectomy (ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02958592).     

Shear Wave Liver Elastography with a Propagation Map: Diagnostic Performance and Inter-Observer Correlation for Hepatic Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis

The aim of this study was to determine the performance of shear wave elastography (SWE) with a propagation map in the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis, and to assess its reliability with transient elastography (TE) as the reference standard. Our prospective study included 115 consecutive patients with suspected or alleged chronic hepatitis. Patients underwent SWE by two different operators and TE by sonographers on the same day. The correlation coefficient of the intra-class correlation test between an experienced radiologist and a third-year radiology resident was 0.878. There was a moderate correlation between SWE and TE (r = 0.511) in the diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis. The best cutoff values predicting significant hepatic fibrosis and liver cirrhosis by SWE were >1.78 m/s (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUROC] = 0.777) and >2.24 m/s (AUROC = 0.935), respectively. SWE with a propagation map is a reliable method for predicting hepatic fibrosis regardless of operator experience.     

Sonographic Elastography Combined With Conventional Sonography

Objective. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic performance of conventional sonography combined with sonographic elastography for differentiation between benign and malignant breast lesions and to assess the diagnostic performance with two types of interpretation criteria for sonographic elastography. Methods. For this study, we included 281 lesions from 267 patients that were diagnosed as benign or malignant by sonographically guided biopsy and prospectively analyzed by conventional sonography and sonographic elastography from October to December 2007. The histopathologic results from sonographically guided biopsy were used as a reference standard. The final assessments were made prospectively on the basis of conventional sonography alone and then by sonographic elastography combined with conventional sonography. The diagnostic performance using area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis (A_z) was compared on the basis of conventional sonography alone and on elastography combined with conventional sonography. We also calculated the area ratio of lesions detected by elastography and the elasticity score reported by Itoh et al (Radiology 2006; 239:341–350). Results. The areas under the ROC curve for conventional sonography and the combination of conventional sonography and sonographic elastography were 0.927 and 0.876, respectively. The area ratio of the lesion had better diagnostic performance (A_z, 0.757) than the elasticity score (A_z, 0.54; P < .05). Conclusions. The diagnostic performance of radiologists with respect to the characterization of breast masses as benign or malignant was not significantly improved with sonographic elastography. The area ratio of the lesion had a better diagnostic value in elastography than the elasticity score.     

Comparative Study of Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging With Real-Time Elastography in Differential Diagnosis of Thyroid Nodules

The aims of this study were to evaluate whether acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging of the thyroid gland and thyroid nodules yields reliable results and to compare the values of ARFI imaging with those of real-time elastography (RTE) in the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules. RTE and ARFI were performed in 30 patients with 58 thyroid nodules. The results were compared with pathologic findings. Receiver operating characteristic curves were drawn to evaluate the diagnostic results. The area under the curve for RTE (0.78) was smaller than that for ARFI (0.94) (p < 0.01). ARFI imaging of thyroid tissue yields more reliable results than RTE.     

实时双幅联合弹性成像在慢性肝病肝纤维化与炎症分层诊断中的价值

目的评估联合弹性成像技术的纤维化相关F指数和炎症活动度相关A指数在分层诊断肝纤维化和炎症程度中的应用价值。 方法收集2019年9月至2021年4月在复旦大学附属华山医院就诊并接受经皮肝穿刺活检或肝部分切除术并获得病理结果的202例慢性肝病患者,其中49例因肝占位性病变而行肝部分切除术,153例因弥漫性肝病行肝穿刺活检。所有患者在术前进行联合弹性成像检查,获得肝纤维化相关F指数和炎症活动度相关A指数;以病理诊断肝纤维化分期（S0~S4期）和炎症活动分级（G0~G4级）为金标准,使用Kruskal-Wallis秩和检验和Bonferroni校正比较不同纤维化分期的F指数以及不同炎症活动分级的A指数的差异,绘制受试者操作特征曲线,使用DeLong检验比较F指数与剪切波速度、实时组织弹性成像的肝纤维化指数（LFI）、天冬氨酸转氨酶与血小板的比率指数（APRI）在肝纤维化无创诊断中的效能。 结果肝纤维化分期S0（40例）、S1（42例）、S2（41例）、S3（34例）和S4期（45例）患者的F指数中位数分别为0.89、1.17、1.45、1.75和2.30,相邻纤维化分期之间的F指数中位数比较,差异均具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。F指数在诊断纤维化分期≥S1、≥S2、≥S3和≥S4的临界值分别为1.14、1.45、1.50和1.63,受试者操作特征曲线下面积（AUC）分别为0.91、0.89、0.90和0.91,均高于LFI（AUC=0.66、0.68、0.69、0.69）与APRI（AUC=0.71、0.68、0.72、0.77）,差异均具有统计学意义（P均＜0.05）;F指数诊断纤维化分期≥S1、≥S2期的AUC高于剪切波速度（AUC=0.84、0.85）,差异具有统计学意义（P均＜0.05）。炎症活动度分级G0（26例）、G1（86例）、G2（68例）和G3-4（22例）级患者的A指数中位数分别为0.83、0.99、1.29和1.69。相邻等级间的A指数中位数比较,差异均具有统计学意义（P均＜0.05）。A指数区分≥G1、≥G2和≥G3-4的临界值分别为0.87、1.15和1.41,AUC分别为0.86、0.87和0.92。 结论联合弹性成像技术获得的A指数能很好地评估肝炎症活动度;F指数则校正了肝细胞炎症活动对肝组织硬度测量的影响,能更准确地诊断肝纤维化分期。     

超声联合硬度评分系统在甲状腺微小结节诊断中的应用价值

目的探讨超声联合硬度评定系统在甲状腺微小结节诊断中的应用价值。 方法对30例行甲状腺切除手术患者的67个甲状腺微小结节,术前分别行实时弹性成像和声脉冲辐射力成像评定成像测定其硬度。在此基础上,以联合硬度评定系统对甲状腺结节硬度进行评定,以硬度为依据鉴别诊断甲状腺结节的良恶性,并以病理为标准,绘制ROC曲线。 结果实时弹性成像鉴别诊断甲状腺良恶性的敏感度、特异度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值、准确性分别为58.8%、96.9%、95.2%、69.6%、77.6%。声脉冲辐射力成像鉴别诊断甲状腺良恶性的敏感度、特异度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值、准确性分别为76.4%、75.8%、76.4%、75.8%、76.1%。联合硬度评定系统鉴别诊断甲状腺良恶性的敏感度、特异度、阳性预测值、阴性预测值、准确性分别为91.2%、93.9%、93.9%、91.2%、92.5%。联合系统与实时弹性成像以及声脉冲辐射力成像相比,ROC曲线下面积分别为0.98,0.93和0.88（Z=8.72,P<0.05）。 结论联合硬度评分系统有助于提高术前甲状腺微小结节良恶性鉴别诊断的准确性。     

Comparative study concerning the value of acoustic radiation force impulse elastography (ARFI) in comparison with transient elastography (TE) for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C

Our aim was to compare liver stiffness (LS) measurements by means of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastography and transient elastography (TE) in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C, according to the severity of fibrosis. We also compared the correlation strength of ARFI and TE measurements with liver fibrosis. We included 53 patients with hepatitis B and 107 with hepatitis C in which liver biopsy, ARFI and TE measurements were performed in the same session. The mean LS values measured with ARFI were similar in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C and depended on the stage of fibrosis. The correlation strength of LS measurements by ARFI and by TE with fibrosis was similar in chronic hepatitis B and C patients. In conclusion, for the same stage of fibrosis, the mean LS values by ARFI were similar in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C. ARFI had similar predictive value with TE in both chronic viral hepatitis.     

Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse and Supersonic Shear Imaging Versus Transient Elastography for Liver Fibrosis Assessment

Our study compared three elastographic methods—transient elastography (TE), acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging and supersonic shear imaging (SSI)—with respect to the feasibility of their use in liver fibrosis evaluation. We also compared the performance of ARFI imaging and SSI, with TE as the reference method. The study included 332 patients, with or without hepatopathies, in which liver stiffness was evaluated using TE, ARFI and SSI. Reliable measurements were defined as a median value of 10 (TE, ARFI imaging) or 5 (SSI) liver stiffness measurements with a success rate ≥60% and an interquartile range interval <30%. A significantly higher percentage of reliable measurements were obtained using ARFI than by using TE and SSI: 92.1% versus 72.2% (p < 0.0001) and 92.1% versus 71.3% (p < 0.0001). Higher body mass index and older age were significantly associated with inability to obtain reliable measurements of liver stiffness using TE and SSI. In 55.4% of patients, reliable liver stiffness measurements were obtained using all three elastographic methods, and ARFI imaging and TE were similarly accurate in diagnosing significant fibrosis and cirrhosis, with TE as the reference method.     

剪切波弹性成像评估大鼠非酒精性脂肪肝病肝纤维化程度

目的探讨剪切波弹性成像(SWE)技术评估大鼠非酒精性脂肪肝病(NAFLD)肝纤维化程度的应用价值。方法将88只SD大鼠随机分为对照组(40只)和实验组(48只),对照组给予普通饲喂,实验组通过饮食调配建立不同肝纤维化分期的NAFLD模型,分别于第1、2、3、8、12周末随机抽取对照组大鼠8只,与预定喂养结束的实验组大鼠一起行SWE检查获取肝脏杨氏模量平均值(Emean),并处死行病理检查;绘制受试者工作特征(ROC)曲线分析Emean预测不同肝纤维化程度的诊断效能。结果肝纤维化F0期、F1期、F2期、F3期、F4期分别有52只、6只、6只、18只、6只,考虑建模成功,其对应的Emean分别为(5.46±0.37)kPa、(6.28±0.33)kPa、(6.42±0.41)kPa、(9.01±0.95)kPa及(15.88±2.49)kPa,不同肝纤维化分期Emean比较差异有统计学意义(F=25.5,P<0.05);除F1期与F2期比较差异无统计学意义外,其余任意两两比较差异均有统计学意义(均P<0.05)。所有大鼠肝脏Emean与肝纤维化程度呈显著正相关(r=0.82,P<0.001)。SWE诊断肝纤维化≥F1、≥F2、≥F3、F4期的截断值分别为6.3 kPa、7.4 kPa、8.6 kPa、9.7 kPa,曲线下面积分别为0.87、0.89、0.93、0.98,敏感性和特异性分别为83.3%、93.3%、100%、100%和85.5%、83.1%、91.3%、92.7%。结论SWE技术可有效评估大鼠NAFLD肝纤维化程度。