Point shear-wave elastography for the diagnosis of veno-occlusive disease in children and young adults.

BACKGROUND: Hepatic veno-occlusive disease or sinusoidal obstruction syndrome is a potentially life-threatening complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. OBJECTIVE: To assess the usefulness of point shear-wave elastography (pSWE) for the early diagnosis of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) in children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out in 43 patients with suspected SOS assessed between March 2018 and November 2021. Diagnosis of SOS was confirmed in 28 patients based on the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation diagnostic criteria. Abdominal ultrasound and pSWE of the liver were performed before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation on first suspicion of SOS. RESULTS: Liver stiffness on initial suspicion was higher in patients diagnosed with SOS and these values increased compared to the pre-transplantation values. A cutoff value of 1.37 m/s was found for the diagnosis of SOS, with an area under the curve of 0.779 (95% CI 0.61-0.93). CONCLUSION: Point shear wave elastography of the liver is a promising technique for the early diagnosis of pediatric SOS.

Community versus clinical cognitive-behavioral intervention in young-adult Spanish population with generalized social phobia / Intervención cognitivo-conductual comunitaria versus intervención clínica en jóvenes adultos españoles con fobia social generalizada

Ei objetivo del estudio es mejorar los resultados informados por las revisiones sobre el tratamiento de adultos con Fobia social generalizada. La muestra la integraron 91 participantes con Fobia social generalizada (EM: 19.90 años; DT: 1.05) asignados aleatoriamente a tres condiciones experimentales, evaluados antes y después del tratamiento, y a los 6, 12, y 24 meses en los grupos tratados. Los resultados muestran (a) la efectividad de la detección en el contexto comunitario versus la intervención clínica, en el corto y medio plazo, y (b) una mejora significativa de los efectos del tratamiento, frente a los de las revisiones de las intervenciones clínicas ad hoc, tanto en los abandonos como en las tasas de recuperación. Ello permite concluir que esta modalidad de aplicación del tratamiento cognitivo-conductual puede ser una estrategia complementaria a la convencional con la que mejorar los resultados actuales de la intervención psicológica en este trastorno.

The study investigates how to improve the results reported by the reviews on the effects of clinical interventions in adults with Generalized social phobia. The sample was composed of 91 participants (median age = 19.90 years, SD = 1.05) randomly assigned to three experimental conditions. The evaluations were conducted before and after treatment in all three groups and at 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up for the treatment groups. The results show (a) the effectiveness of the cognitive-behavioral strategy of detection and intervention, in a community context, versus clinical intervention both for the short and medium term; and (b) a significant improvement over the percentages of dropouts and of rates of complete recovery from the disorder. These findings allow us to conclude that the cognitive-behavioral strategy of detection and intervention, in a community context is shown to be a complementary intervention to the conventional and with high efficiency ratios.

Hepatic and Splenic Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Shear Wave Velocity Elastography in Children with Liver Disease Associated with Cystic Fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: Liver disease associated with cystic fibrosis (CFLD) is the second cause of mortality in these patients. The diagnosis is difficult because none of the available tests are specific enough. Noninvasive elastographic techniques have been proven to be useful to diagnose hepatic fibrosis. Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging is an elastography imaging system. The purpose of the work was to study the utility of liver and spleen ARFI Imaging in the detection of CFLD. Method. 72 patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) were studied and received ARFI imaging in the liver and in the spleen. SWV values were compared with the values of 60 healthy controls. Results. Comparing the SWV values of CFLD with the control healthy group, values in the right lobe were higher in patients with CFLD. We found a SWV RHL cut-off value to detect CFLD of 1.27 m/s with a sensitivity of 56.5% and a specificity of 90.5%. CF patients were found to have higher SWC spleen values than the control group. Conclusions. ARFI shear wave elastography in the right hepatic lobe is a noninvasive technique useful to detect CFLD in our sample of patients. Splenic SWV values are higher in CF patients, without any clinical consequence.

Normal values of spleen stiffness in healthy children assessed by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI): comparison between two ultrasound transducers.

BACKGROUND: Portal hypertension, a major complication of hepatic fibrosis, can affect the stiffness of the spleen. OBJECTIVE: To suggest normal values of spleen stiffness determined by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in healthy children and to compare measurements using two different US probes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In a prospective study, 60 healthy children between 1 day and 14 years of age were assigned to four age groups with 15 children in each. Measurements were performed using two transducers (convex 4C1 and linear 9L4), and 10 measurements were obtained in each child, 5 with each probe. RESULTS: The mean splenic shear wave velocities were 2.17 m/s (SD 0.35, 95% CI 2.08-2.26) with the 4C1 probe and 2.15 m/s (SD 0.23, 95% CI 2.09-2.21) with the 9L4 probe (not significant). CONCLUSION: We found normal values for spleen stiffness with no difference in the mean values obtained using two types of US transducers, but with higher variability using a convex compared to a linear transducer.

Normal values of liver shear wave velocity in healthy children assessed by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging using a convex probe and a linear probe.

Acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) is an image-guided ultrasound elastography method that allows quantification of liver stiffness by measurement of shear wave velocity. One purpose of the work described in this article was to determine the normal liver stiffness values of healthy children using ARFI with two different probes, 4 C1 and 9 L4. Another purpose was to evaluate the effects of site of measurement, age, gender and body mass index on liver stiffness values. This prospective study included 60 healthy children (newborn to 14 y) divided into four age groups. One thousand two hundred ARFI measurements were performed, that is, 20 measurements per patient (5 measurements in each lobe, with each probe). Means, standard deviations (SD) and confidence intervals for velocity were calculated for each hepatic lobe and each probe in each age group and for the whole group. Mean shear wave velocity measured in the right lobe was 1.19 ± 0.04 m/s (SD = 0.13) with the 4 C1 transducer and 1.15 ± 0.04 m/s (SD = 0.15) with the 9 L4 transducer. Age had a small effect on shear wave measurements. Body mass index and sex had no significant effects on ARFI values, whereas site of measurement had a significant effect, with lower ARFI values in the right hepatic lobe. ARFI is a non-invasive technique that is feasible to perform in children with both the 4 C1 and 9 L4 probes. The aforementioned velocity values obtained in the right lobe may be used as reference values for normal liver stiffness in children.