title: Ultrasound elastography correlates treatment response by antiviral therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the relationship between tissue elasticity before and after antiviral therapy and shear wave as well as strain elastography.
  
  
  METHODS
  FibroScan and real-time tissue elastography were performed before and after antiviral therapy for chronic hepatitis C, and treatment efficacy and elastographic findings were comparatively analyzed. Elasticity was evaluated by measuring liver stiffness (LS) in kilopascals using FibroScan, and the liver fibrosis index (LFI) was assessed by real-time tissue elastography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LS and LFI correlated well before and after therapy (r = 0.567, p = 0.003 and r = 0.576, p = 0.002, respectively). In the group without a sustained virological response (SVR), LS increased in 4 of 5 patients. Patients with an increase in both LS and LFI were all in the non-SVR group (3/3, 100%). In addition, LS increased in all patients except 1 in the non-SVR group (4/5, 80%). In the SVR group, both LS and LFI decreased in all patients except 1 (18/19, 94.7%). In the patient with an increase in LS despite achieving SVR, LS decreased quickly after alcohol cessation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With a few exceptions, SVR improved LS. All patients with an increase in LFI were in the non-SVR group, even though LFI decreased in 2 patients. Our findings suggest that an LFI increase indicates lack of treatment efficacy with antiviral therapy. LFI may be useful for the assessment of treatment efficacy in patients with worsening of LS despite achieving SVR with antiviral therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka-Sayama, Japan.
authors.forename: Norihisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yada
authors.forename: Toshiharu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakurai
authors.forename: Tomohiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.forename: Tadaaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Arizumi
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takita
authors.forename: Tatsuo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Inoue
authors.forename: Satoru
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hagiwara
authors.forename: Kazuomi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ueshima
authors.forename: Naoshi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nishida
authors.forename: Masatoshi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kudo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000008:administration & dosage; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009842:Oligopeptides / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols / Q000008:administration & dosage; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012254:Ribavirin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D016898:Interferon-alpha; D009842:Oligopeptides; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D011092:Polyethylene Glycols; D012254:Ribavirin; C486464:telaprevir; C100416:peginterferon alfa-2a