Purpose
In advanced fibrosis, liver stiffness measurements were shown to have no predictive potential for the severity of portal hypertension. We propose to test if an additional evaluation of splenic stiffness could improve the non-invasive prediction of portal hyperdynamic circulation.To compare the role of the liver (LSM) and splenic stiffness measurements (SSM) measured by shear wave elastography (SWE) in predicting the presence of esophagogastric varices (EGV) in patients with portal hypertension and to determine the correlation between the SSM and endoscopic grade of EGV
Methods and materials
This study included 40 patients with chronic liver disease being evaluated for portal hypertension and planned for esophagogastroduodenoscopy.
To measure liver stiffness, the region of interest is positioned in an area in
the right lobe free of vessels and bile ducts, at least 1.5 cm below the liver capsule. For spleen stiffness, the ROI is placed in the parenchyma of the lower pole at least 1 cm below the spleen capsule.
The shear wave liver stiffness (in kPa) was recorded at ten locations and the...
Results
LSM and variceal grade showed weak positive linear correlation (R = 0.36076, P
Conclusion
Our results are against the conventional knowledge of the significant positive correlation between LSM, SSM and variceal grading.
Personal information and conflict of interest
V. K. Venugopal; New Delhi/IN - nothing to disclose N. Tandon; New Delhi/IN - nothing to disclose P. Garg; New Delhi/IN - nothing to disclose V. Mahajan; New Delhi/IN - nothing to disclose H. Mahajan; New Delhi/IN - nothing to disclose M. Barnwal; New Delhi/IN - nothing to disclose
References
1.Lucchina, N. et al. Point Shear Wave Elastography of the Spleen: Its Role in Patients with Portal Hypertension. Ultrasound Med Biol 44, 771–778 (2018).
2.Giunta, M., Conte, D. & Fraquelli, M. Role of spleen elastography in patients with chronic liver diseases. World J. Gastroenterol. 22, 7857–7867 (2016).
3.Paternostro, R., Reiberger, T. & Bucsics, T. Elastography-based screening for esophageal varices in patients with advanced chronic liver disease. World J. Gastroenterol. 25, 308–329 (2019).
4.Albayrak, E. & Server, S. The relationship of spleen stiffness value measured by...