Liver stiffness identifies two different patterns of fibrosis progression in patients with hepatitis C virus recurrence after liver transplantation.
Significant liver fibrosis (F >or= 2) and portal hypertension (hepatic venous pressure gradient [HVPG] >or= 6 mmHg) at 1 year after liver transplantation (LT) identify patients with severe hepatitis C recurrence. We evaluated whether repeated liver stiffness measurements (LSM) following LT can discriminate between slow and rapid "fibrosers" (fibrosis stage F2-F4 at 1 year after LT). Eighty-four patients who had undergone LT and who were infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 19 LT controls who were not infected with HCV underwent LSM at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after LT. All HCV-infected patients underwent liver biopsy 12 months after LT (paired HVPG measurements in 74); 31 (37%) were rapid fibrosers. Median LSM (in kilopascal) at months 6, 9, and 12 were significantly higher in rapid fibrosers (9.9, 9.5, 12.1) than in slow fibrosers (6.9, 7.5, 6.6) (P < 0.01 all time points). The slope of liver stiffness progression (kPa x month) in rapid fibrosers (0.42) was significantly greater than in slow fibrosers (0.05) (P < 0.001), suggesting two different speeds of liver fibrosis progression. Figures were almost identical for patients with HVPG >or= 6 mmHg or HVPG < 6 mmHg at 1 year after LT. Multivariate analysis identified donor age, bilirubin level, and LSM as independent predictors of fibrosis progression and portal hypertension in the estimation group (n = 50) and were validated in a second group of 34 patients. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve that could identify rapid fibrosers and patients with portal hypertension as early as 6 months after LT were 0.83 and 0.87, respectively, in the estimation group and 0.75 and 0.80, respectively, in the validation group.


CONCLUSIONS
Early and repeated LSM following hepatitis C recurrence in combination with clinical variables discriminates between rapid and slow fibrosers after LT.
Liver Unit, Institut de Malalties Digestives, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Hepáticas y Digestivas (CIBERehd), Barcelona, Spain.
José A
JA
Carrión
Ferran
F
Torres
Gonzalo
G
Crespo
Rosa
R
Miquel
Juan-Carlos
JC
García-Valdecasas
Miquel
M
Navasa
Xavier
X
Forns
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018450:Disease Progression; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D006975:Hypertension, Portal / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000473:pathology*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence