RESUMEN
Objective To investigate the correlation between liver and spleen stiffness measured by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) and hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG),and to evaluate its efficiency in the diagnosis of portal hypertension.Methods From April 2014 to March 2016,20 cases underwent HVPG measurement because of liver cirrhosis were enrolled.Before HVPG measurement,liver and spleen stiffness were assessed with ARFI.The correlation between HVPG and age,alanine aminotransferase (ALT),aspartate aminotransferase (AST),total hilirubin,serum albumin,platelet count,prothrombin time,aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) score,Child-Pugh score,model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score,liver stiffness and spleen stiffness were analyzed.Pearson correlation and Spearman rank correlation were performed for statistical analysis.Results HVPG,liver and spleen stiffness were successfully measured in all 20 patients.The mean liver stiffness was (1.78±0.29) m/s,the mean spleen stiffness was (3.37±0.44) m/s and HVPG was (16.10±5.14) mmHg (1 mmHg=0.133 kPa).Age,ALT,AST,total bilirubin,serum albumin,platelet count,prothrombin time,APRI score,Child-Pugh score and MELD score were all not correlated with HVPG (all P＞0.05).But HVPG was positively correlated with liver and spleen stiffness (r=0.449,P=0.047;r=0.487,P=0.030).In the diagnosis of HVPG≥12 mmHg,the area under curve (AUC) of liver stiffness was 0.875,the optimal cut-off value was 1.77 m/s,the sensitivity was 68.6 ％ and the specificity was 100.0％.In the diagnosis of HPVG≥20 mmHg,the AUC of liver stiffness was 0.798,the optimal cut off value was 1.85 m/s,the sensitivity was 100.0％ and the specificity was 68.8％.The AUC of spleen stiffness was 0.820,the optimal cut-off value was 3.23 m/s,the sensitivity was 100.0 ％ and the specificity was 56.3％.Conclusion In patients with liver cirrhosis,liver stiffness and spleen stiffness assessed by ARFI are positively correlated with HVPG and therefore ARFI has certain application value in the noninvasive diagnosis of portal hypertension.