Clinical evaluation of liver stiffness by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in patient with ischemic type biliary lesion after orthotopic liver transplantation / 中华医学超声杂志（电子版）

ABSTRACT

Objective To study the clinical value of acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) in patients with ischemic type biliary lesion (ITBL) after orthotopic liver transplantation. Methods Between July 2012 to January 2013, forty-one patients in General Hospital of the People′s Liberation Army were enrolled in this study who were admitted for post-transplantation follow-up. Among them, 15 patients were diagnosed as ITBL by ultrasonography. Besides conventional ultrasonography, ARFI was used to detect the shear wave velocity (SWV) of liver tissue at depth of 4 cm and 5 cm respectively. Simultaneously liver function test was performed. Independent-samples t test was performed to compare the difference of SWV between ITBL and non-ITBL group at the same depth. Paired-sample t test was performed to compare the difference of SWV for the same ITBL patient. Pearson correlation analysis was used in analyzing the relation between SWV and liver function. Results The average SWV in depth of 4 cm was (1.561±0.425) m/s and (1.121±0.160) m/s in ITBL and non-ITBL group, respectively. Signiifcant differences were found among the ITBL and non-ITBL groups (t=-3.173, P=0.01). The average SWV in depth of 5 cm was (1.608±0.545) m/s and (1.175±0.173) m/s in ITBL and non-ITBL group, respectively. Signiifcant differences were found among the ITBL and non-ITBL groups (t=-2.454, P=0.034). There was no signiifcant difference between SWV measurements at different depth for the same ITBL patient. For all patients, SWV at different depths were both strongly correlated with alkaline phosphatase (r=0.656, 0.667, respectively;both P=0.000) andγ-glutamyl transpeptidase (r=0.482, P=0.007;r=0.508, P=0.004). Conclusion The liver stiffness measurement is valuable for the clinical evaluation of post-transplantation ITBL.