title: Increased liver elasticity in patients with biliary obstruction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Transient elastography (with the FibroScan® apparatus) is a recently developed method for evaluating the severity of liver fibrosis by measuring liver elasticity. Liver elasticity may differ from the normal level in patients with obstructive jaundice because the retained bile may expand the liver. Because little is known about liver elasticity in patients with obstructive jaundice, we evaluated this feature in these patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between April 2007 and April 2008, 178 patients with biliary or pancreatic disease underwent transient elastography at the University of Tokyo Hospital. We excluded 77 patients because of concomitant cirrhotic liver disease, liver tumors, or a history of abdominal surgery. The remaining 101 patients were included in the study and were divided into obstructive jaundice (OJ; n = 43) and nonobstructive jaundice (NJ; n = 58) groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The basic patient characteristics did not differ significantly between the two groups, except for the causative diseases. The mean liver elasticity was significantly higher in the OJ group than in the NJ group (12.0 vs. 6.2 kPa, p < 0.01). In 24 patients from the OJ group, transient elastography was performed before and after biliary drainage; there was a marked reduction in the elasticity after the procedure in these patients (p < 0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Liver elasticity increases in patients with biliary obstruction. This increase is reduced after biliary drainage, implying that the increased FibroScan® values before drainage are not due to liver fibrosis, but to temporarily increased elasticity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan. yashimay@gmail.com
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yashima
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tsujino
authors.forename: Ryota
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Masuzaki
authors.forename: Yousuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hirano
authors.forename: Ryosuke
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tateishi
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sasahira
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Isayama
authors.forename: Minoru
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tada
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: Takao
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kawabe
authors.forename: Masao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Omata
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001659:Biliary Tract / Q000503:physiopathology; D004322:Drainage; D004548:Elasticity; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007565:Jaundice / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D041781:Jaundice, Obstructive / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
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