Transient elastography for patients with chronic hepatitis B and C virus infection: Non-invasive, quantitative assessment of liver fibrosis.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the present study was to compare the diagnostic performance of transient elastography (FibroScan) with that of serum fibrosis markers and stages of hepatic fibrosis by biopsy in 68 patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and in 161 patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.


RESULTS
The serum levels of hyaluronic acid (r = 0.601) and type IV collagen (r = 0.663) significantly positively associated with the FibroScan values (all P < 0.05). Classified by fibrosis stages, the median values of FibroScan were 3.5 kPa for F0, 6.4 kPa for F1, 9.5 kPa for F2, 11.4 kPa for F3, and 15.4 kPa forF4 in patients with chronic HBV infection, and were 6.3 kPa for F0, 6.7 kPa for F1, 9.1 kPa for F2, 13.7 kPa for F3, and 26.4 kPa for F4 in those with chronic HCV infection. The values were significantly correlated with fibrosis stage for both (HBV, r = 0.559, P = 0.0093, and HCV, r = 0.686, P < 0.0001).


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that FibroScan is an efficient and simple method for evaluating liver fibrosis in patients with chronic infection, both for HBV and HCV.
Ogawa
Eiichi
E
Department of General Medicine, Kyushu University Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan.
Furusyo
Norihiro
N
Toyoda
Kazuhiro
K
Takeoka
Hiroaki
H
Otaguro
Shigeru
S
Hamada
Maki
M
Murata
Masayuki
M
Sawayama
Yasunori
Y
Hayashi
Jun
J