Risk factors for osteopenia/osteoporosis and the diagnostic value of CT value in patients with chronic hepatitis B / 临床肝胆病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the value of the CT values of thoracolumbar vertebrae measured by abdominal CT in the diagnosis of osteopenia/osteoporosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B, as well as the risk factors for osteopenia/osteoporosis in such patients. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for 112 patients with chronic hepatitis B in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University from January 2019 to December 2020. All patients underwent abdominal CT, and some patients underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The CT values of T12 vertebral body to L3 vertebral body were measured, and the value of CT value of each vertebral body in the diagnosis of osteopenia/osteoporosis was analyzed in comparison with T-score of L1-L4 vertebral bodies measured by DXA. With the CT values of vertebral bodies as the diagnostic criteria, the patients with chronic hepatitis B enrolled were divided into osteopenia/osteoporosis group with 55 patients and normal bone mass group with 57 patients. Clinical features and biochemical parameters were compared between the two groups to analyze the risk factors for osteopenia/osteoporosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. The t -test was used for comparison of normally distributed continuous data between groups, and the Mann-Whitney U test was used for comparison of non-normally distributed continuous data between groups; the chi-square test, the Fisher's exact test, and the Bonferroni correction test were used for comparison of categorical data between groups. A Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate correlation, and a binary logistic regression analysis was used for multivariate analysis. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to investigate the value of CT values of T12-L3 vertebral bodies in the diagnosis of osteopenia/osteoporosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. The Kappa test was used check consistency. Results A total of 46 patients who completed abdominal CT and DXA during the same time of hospitalization were analyzed, and their CT values of T12-L3 vertebral bodies were significantly positively correlated with the T-score values of L1-L4 vertebral bodies in DXA ( r T12 =0.694, r L1 =0.661, r L2 =0.781, r L3 =0.685, all P < 0.001). The ROC curve analysis showed that the CT value of L2 vertebral body had the largest area under the ROC curve of 0.863 and showed a good accuracy in the diagnosis of osteopenia/osteoporosis, which was consistent with the results of DXA ( K =0.648, P < 0.001). The clinical features and biochemical parameters of 112 patients with chronic hepatitis B were analyzed, and it was suggested that old age (odds ratio [ OR ]=1.108, 95% confidence interval [ CI ]: 1.026-1.196, P =0.009) and sarcopenia ( OR =2.788, 95% CI : 1.009-7.707, P =0.048) were the risk factors for osteopenia/osteoporosis. Conclusion The patients with chronic hepatitis B often need regular abdominal CT to evaluate the progression of liver disease, and it is of high clinical significance to identify the presence or absence of osteopenia/osteoporosis and sarcopenia by measuring the CT value of L2 vertebral body and skeletal muscle area of L3 vertebrae plane, thereby giving timely intervention and improving patients' prognosis and quality of life.