Increased liver stiffness in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: a pilot study.
OBJECTIVE
There is evidence that pulmonary, hepatic and renal fibrosis may share common pathogenetic pathways. Aim of our study was to measure liver stiffness in patients affected by clinically stable idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).


METHODS
Twenty-nine cases (24 M; mean age±SD: 67±8.3 yrs; 19 ex-smokers) along with fifteen age- and sex-matched healthy volunteers were enrolled. Liver conventional ultrasound examination and transient ultrasound elastography (TUE) were realized by two independent operators.


RESULTS
Mild/moderate steatosis was identified in 1 control and 8 IPF cases (6.6% and 27.5%); severe steatosis in 2 IPF patients (7%). Mean TUE measurements were increased in 11 IPF cases (38%) as compared to controls (6.4±2.2 kPa vs 5.2±0.4 kPa; p=0.02).


CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is the first report suggesting that liver stiffness is increased in more than one-third of IPF patients. Application of novel methodologies should be encouraged for investigating further IPF.
FedericoII University of Naples, Italy. marialuisa.bocchino@unina.it.
Marialuisa
M
Bocchino
Giuseppina
G
Brancaccio
Gaetano
G
Rea
Marina
M
De Martino
Giovanni Battista
GB
Gaeta
Alessandro
A
Sanduzzi
D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D054990:Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015994:Incidence; D007558:Italy; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061330:Multidetector Computed Tomography; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011379:Prognosis; D012129:Respiratory Function Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution