Is ARFI elastography reliable for predicting fibrosis severity in chronic HCV hepatitis?

AIM:To determine whether acoustic radiation force impulse(ARFI) elastography is a reliable method for predicting fibrosis severity in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus(HCV) hepatitis.METHODS:We performed a multicenter study including 274 subjects with HCV chronic hepatitis in which we compared ARFI with liver biopsy(LB).In each patient we performed LB(evaluated according to the Metavir score) and ARFI measurements(using a Siemens Acuson S2000TM ultrasound system:10 valid measurements were performed and median values were calculated and expressed in meters/second(m/s).RESULTS:A direct,strong,correlation(Spearman r = 0.707) was found between ARFI measurements and fibrosis(P < 0.0001).For predicting the presence of fibrosis(F ≥ 1 Metavir),significant fibrosis(F ≥ 2),severe fibrosis(F ≥ 3) and cirrhosis(F = 4),the cutoff values of 1.19,1.21,1.58 and 1.82 m/s were determined,respectively,liver stiffness measurements had 73%,84%,84% and 91% Se respectively;93%,91%,94%,90% Sp,respectively;with AUROCs of 0.880,0.893,0.908 and 0.937,respectively.CONCLUSION:ARFI measurement is a reliable method for predicting the severity of fibrosis in HCV patients