Real-time sono-elastography in the diagnosis of diffuse liver diseases.
OBJECTIVE
To analyze whether computer-enhanced dynamic analysis of elastography movies is able to better characterize and differentiate between different degrees of liver fibrosis.


METHODS
The study design was prospective. A total of 132 consecutive patients with chronic liver diseases and healthy volunteers were examined by transabdominal ultrasound elastography. All examinations were done by two doctors.


RESULTS
Due to the limitations of the method, we obtained high-quality elastography information in only 73.48% of the patients. The kappa-means clustering method was applied to assess the inter-observer diagnosis variability, which showed good variability values in accordance with the experience of ultrasound examination of every observer. Cohen's kappa test indicated a moderate agreement between the study observers (kappa = 0.4728). Furthermore, we compared the way the two observers clustered the patients, using the test for comparing two proportions (t value, two-sided test). There was no statistically significant difference between the two physicians, regardless of the patients' real status.


CONCLUSIONS
Transabdominal real-time elastography is certainly a very useful method in depicting liver hardness, although it is incompletely tested in large multicenter studies.
Gheonea
Dan Ionuţ
DI
Research Center of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Craiova, 1 Mai, 66, Craiova 200639, Romania. digheonea@gmail.com
Săftoiu
Adrian
A
Ciurea
Tudorel
T
Gorunescu
Florin
F
Iordache
Sevastiţa
S
Popescu
Gabriel Lucian
GL
Belciug
Smaranda
S
Gorunescu
Marina
M
Săndulescu
Larisa
L
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003199:Computer Systems; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014741:Video Recording