Assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B using acoustic structure quantification: quantitative morphological ultrasound.
OBJECTIVE
To prospectively investigate the usefulness of acoustic structure quantification (ASQ) for noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).


METHODS
Consecutive patients with CHB scheduled for liver biopsy or partial liver resection underwent standardized ASQ examinations. The ASQ parameter, named focal disturbance (FD) ratio, were compared with METAVIR scores. The analysis was based on receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and multiple regression analysis.


RESULTS
A total of 114 patients were enrolled in the final analysis. The area under the ROC curve for the FD ratio was 0.84 for significant fibrosis (≥ F2), 0.86 for severe fibrosis (≥ F3), and 0.83 for cirrhosis (= F4). The optimal cutoff values for the FD ratio were 0.25, 0.30 and 0.50 for fibrosis stages ≥ F2, ≥ F3 and = F4, respectively. The prevalence of a difference of at least two stages between the FD ratio and the histological stage was 12.3 % (14 of 114). The fibrosis stage (P < 0.001), degree of steatosis (P < 0.001) were independent factors associated with the FD ratio.


CONCLUSIONS
FD ratio should be an effective noninvasive imaging biomarker for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with CHB.


CONCLUSIONS
• Focal disturbance (FD) ratio increased with the increasing histological fibrosis stages. • FD ratio showed promising diagnostic accuracy in assessing liver fibrosis. • Degree of fibrosis and steatosis were independent factors associated with FD ratio.
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Yang
Y
Huang
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Zhu
Z
Wang
Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Bing
B
Liao
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Jin-Yu
JY
Liang
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Lu-Yao
LY
Zhou
Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Fen
F
Wang
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Wei
W
Li
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Jin-Ya
JY
Liu
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Xiao-Yan
XY
Xie
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.|Department of Hepatobiliary Surgery, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China.
Ming-De
MD
Lu
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China. liugj@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Guang-Jian
GJ
Liu
Department of Medical Ultrasonics, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Ultrasound, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, NO. 58 Zhongshan Road 2, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510080, People's Republic of China. wangw73@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
Wei
W
Wang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012372:ROC Curve; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D014463:Ultrasonography / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
Acoustic structure quantification; Focal disturbance ratio; Hepatitis B; Liver fibrosis; Transient elastography