Factors that affect the diagnostic accuracy of liver fibrosis measurement by Fibroscan in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
BACKGROUND
Interquartile range/median value (IQR/M) of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is a factor in chronic hepatitis C (CHC) leading to over estimation of fibrosis by Fibroscan.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate factors that affect the accuracy of LSM in chronic hepatitis B (CHB).


METHODS
One hundred and ninety-nine patients were enrolled. Only procedures yielding > or =10 valid measurements were considered reliable. Liver fibrosis was evaluated using the Batts and Ludwig system. Liver biopsy (LB) specimens <15 mm were considered ineligible.


RESULTS
The mean age (142 men and 57 women) was 40.1 years. A significant discordance (discordance of at least two stages between LB and LSM) was identified in 38 (19.1%) and 47 (23.6%) patients respectively, according to Marcellin et al. and Chan et al.'s cutoff values. In multivariate analyses, BMI and fibrosis stage (F0-2 vs. F3-4) were identified as independent predictors for significant discordance (P = 0.040; hazard ratio [HR], 1.126; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.005-1.261 and P = 0.036; HR, 0.450; 95% CI, 0.213-0.949 respectively) with Marcellin et al.'s cutoffs, whereas fibrosis stage was the only independent predictor (P = 0.004; HR, 0.300; 95% CI, 0.131-0.685) with Chan's cutoffs.


CONCLUSIONS
Success rate and IQR/M were not predictive factors of the accuracy for diagnosing liver fibrosis by Fibroscan in CHB. Fibrosis stage (F0-2) was the only factor to predict significant discordance between LB and LSM.
Kim
S U
SU
Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Seo
Y S
YS
Cheong
J Y
JY
Kim
M Y
MY
Kim
J K
JK
Um
S H
SH
Cho
S W
SW
Paik
S K
SK
Lee
K S
KS
Han
K-H
KH
Ahn
S H
SH
D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity