title: Shear wave elastography (SWE) of the spleen in patients with hepatitis B and C but without significant liver fibrosis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of the study was to compare the elasticity of the spleen in patients with hepatitis B and C but without liver fibrosis with that of healthy subjects using a shear wave elastography (SWE) examination.
  
  
  METHODS
  Between December 2014 and December 2015, 35 patients with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections and 45 patients with (hepatitis C virus) HCV infections and liver stiffness below 7.1 kPa were included in the study. The control group was composed of 53 healthy volunteers without any chronic liver disease, with no abnormal findings in their ultrasound examinations and with an SWE of the liver below 6.5 kPa. The SWE measurements were a part of routine ultrasound abdominal examinations. The examinations were performed using an Aixplorer device by two radiologists with at least 6 years' experience. To compare spleen stiffness between the groups, the Mann-Whitney U-test was applied. To analyze the dependency between liver and spleen elasticity, Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was calculated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 133 SWE findings were analyzed. Stiffness of the spleen was significantly higher in patients with HBV and HCV but without significant liver fibrosis than it was in the healthy controls (p = 0.0018 and 0.0000, respectively). This correlation was also present in patients with liver stiffness below 6.5 kPa (p = 0.0041 and 0.0000, respectively). Analysis revealed no significant correlation between liver and spleen stiffness in patients with hepatitis B and C and without significant fibrosis (p = 0.3216 and 0.0626, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with hepatitis B and C but without significant liver fibrosis have stiffer spleens than healthy controls. There is no dependency between liver and spleen elasticity in patients without significant fibrosis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The SWE examination might be an important tool and could be used in addition to conventional imaging. Our study may become a starting point in further investigations into the role of the spleen in HCV and HBV infections and perhaps into introducing spleen elastography into diagnostic and follow-up procedures.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wroclaw Medical University, 68 Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej street, 50-369 Wroclaw.
authors.forename: Aleksander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pawluś
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wroclaw Medical University, 68 Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej street, 50-369 Wroclaw.
authors.forename: Marcin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inglot
authors.affiliation: 2 Division of Surgical Specialties, Department of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Mariusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chabowski
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wroclaw Medical University, 68 Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej street, 50-369 Wroclaw.
authors.forename: Kinga
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Szymańska
authors.affiliation: 4 Department of Infectious Diseases, Hepatology and Acquired Immune Deficiencies, Wroclaw Medical University, 5 Koszarowa street, 51-149 Wroclaw.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inglot
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wroclaw Medical University, 68 Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej street, 50-369 Wroclaw.
authors.forename: Mateusz
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patyk
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wroclaw Medical University, 68 Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej street, 50-369 Wroclaw.
authors.forename: Joanna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Słonina
authors.affiliation: 3 Department of Radiology, Coimbra Medical University, Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: Filipe
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Caseiro-Alves
authors.affiliation: 2 Division of Surgical Specialties, Department of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Wroclaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Dariusz
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Janczak
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of General and Pediatric Radiology, Wroclaw Medical University, 68 Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej street, 50-369 Wroclaw.
authors.forename: Urszula
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Zaleska-Dorobisz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013154:Spleen / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*