Diffusion weighted MRI and transient elastography assessment of liver fibrosis in hepatitis C patients: Validity of non invasive imaging techniques

ObjectiveTreatment for hepatitis C infection and monitoring of progression were based on degree of fibrosis, which were traditionally diagnosed by liver biopsy but it has many limitations. We aim to evaluate noninvasive imaging methods, so-called diffusion-weighted MRI (DW MRI) and transient elastography [(TE), fibroscan] in diagnosing liver fibrosis in hepatitis C (HCV) patients.PatientsThe Study included 102 hepatitis C patients (62 male) with mean age of 38 ± 5. For all patients liver biopsy was done followed by DW MRI and TE. METAVIR classification system was used for staging liver fibrosis. Data obtained were collected and results of DW MRI and TE were compared with those of histopathology. The diagnostic performance of ADC and TE was determined using areas under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves for significant fibrosis ⩾F3.ResultsMeasuring ADC at different b-values had a significant negative correlation with stage of fibrosis P = 0.001, the best negative correlation at b-value of 700 mm2/s. TE had a significant positive correlation with stage of fibrosis P = 0.005. Both examination showed a significant difference between fibrosis stage