Dynamic Elastography in Diagnostics of Liver Fibrosis in Patients After Liver Transplantation Due to Cirrhosis in the Course of Hepatitis C

• Elastography results are compared with biopsy results in diagnostics of liver fibrosis.
• Patients after liver transplantation for hepatitis C virus–related cirrhosis were studied.
• The stiffness cut-off point for assessment of significant fibrosis was determined.
• The relevance of elastography as a noninvasive fibrosis assessment tool is discussed.

BackgroundAssessment of the dynamics and degree of liver fibrosis in patients after liver transplantation is a basic element in the process of determining transplant survival prognosis. It allows planning and early initiation of prophylaxis or treatment, which translates into increased chances of preventing cirrhosis and of long-term optimal function of the graft. The aim of this study was to compare the results of biopsy and dynamic elastography in diagnostics of transplanted liver fibrosis, as well as determination of the stiffness cut-off point for assessment of significant fibrosis.Patients and MethodsThe study included 36 patients who had undergone liver transplantation due to cirrhosis in the course of hepatitis C virus (HVC) infection. Fibrosis was assessed in bioptates according to the METAVIR score (F0–F4). Elastography was performed using FibroScan; receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to identify the cut-off point for significant fibrosis (≥F2).ResultsThe median stiffness in kPa for the whole group F0–F4 was 6.3 (range 3.4–29.9); for ≥F2 it was 6.9 (3.4–29.9), whereas for F0–F1 it was 4.4 (3.5–8.0). It was demonstrated that the value of 4.7 kPa in elastography is a statistically significant cut-off point for differentiation between the groups F0–F1 and F2–F4 (sensitivity: 93%, specificity: 57%, positive predictive value: 90%, negative predictive value: 66%), area under the receiver operating characteristic curve: 0.746 (95% confidence interval: 0.53–0.95, P < .05).ConclusionsElastography is a promising tool for noninvasive assessment of significant liver fibrosis in patients after transplantation due to cirrhosis in the course of hepatitis C; it allows reduction in the number of biopsies performed.