Assessment of Liver Fibrosis using Shear Wave Elastography in Comparison to FibroScan and Histology

Chronic liver diseases can lead to fibrosis and eventually to cirrhosis. The extent of liver damage is crucial for therapy planning and prognosis. Liver damage can be measured by transient elastography (FibroScan) as a validated method for non-invasive quantification of liver stiffness, while shear wave elastography (SWE) is a newer ultrasound technique.

Our study included 214 patients with different liver diseases or with healthy livers. Liver stiffness was determined by both techniques, additionally, liver biopsy was performed in 33 patients. The aim of this study was to assess the value of SWE in comparison to FibroScan for determining different stages of fibrosis, and to correlate histology with SWE results.

The data showed a high correlation between the measurements from FibroScan and SWE (r=0,925, &quot;p<0,001&quot;). For SWE, cut-off-values were determined for detecting significant fibrosis (8,42 kPa) and cirrhosis (12,7 kPa) with high sensitivity and specificity. Moreover, the subgroup analysis of the biopsied patients showed that the overall histological grading (ρ=0,909, &quot;p<0,001&quot;), as well as the classification of advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis (ρ=0,866, p=0,05), positively correlated with the results of SWE.

The study illustrates that SWE is a reliable method for assessing liver stiffness, which can be integrated into modern ultrasound devices in order to take advantage of SWE, which is less susceptible for interfering factors such as ascites and obesity as compared to FibroScan.

Publication History

Article published online:
20 January 2025