Quantitative evaluation of renal tissue changes in patients with liver cirrhosis by shear wave elastography

Purpose Hepatocirrhotic nephropathy progresses rapidly and has a poor prognosis, and early detection of renal changes in patients with cirrhosis is particularly important for its prevention and treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) in the early diagnosis of hepatocirrhotic nephropathy. Methods 206 hepatic cirrhosis patients with normal conventional renal function were enrolled and divided into Child–Pugh grade A (Group A), Child–Pugh grade B (Group B), and Child–Pugh grade C (Group C) according to the Child–Pugh grading method. Meanwhile, 60 healthy volunteers matched in age and sex were selected as the control group. The maximum Young’s modulus (Emax), average Young’s modulus (Emean), and minimum Young’s modulus (Emin) of the left renal parenchyma were measured by SWE in all subjects. The Emax, Emean, and Emin values of the left renal parenchyma were compared between the cirrhosis and control groups. Results The Emax, Emean, and Emin values of left renal parenchyma in cirrhosis group were higher than those in control group ( p = 0.00, 0.00, 0.00). The Emax, Emean, and Emin values of left renal parenchyma in cirrhosis group B and group C were higher than those in control group ( p = 0.00, 0.00, 0.00; p = 0.00, 0.00, 0.00), but these values in cirrhosis group A were not significantly different from control group( p = 0.48, 0.52, 0.92). Comparison of the Emax, Emean, and Emin values in left renal parenchyma of three cirrhosis groups, the values of Group B and Group C were higher than those of Group A ( p = 0.00, 0.00, 0.00; p = 0.00, 0.00, 0.00), and there was no significant difference between Group B and Group C ( p = 0.71, 0.18, 0.39). Conclusion SWE can detect renal tissue damage in patients with liver cirrhosis earlier than changes identified during routine laboratory examination by quantitatively measuring the elastic parameters of renal parenchyma and may become a new method for early diagnosis of hepatorenal syndrome. Graphical Abstract