The initial clinical study of acoustic radiation force impulse imaging in quantitative evaluatingthe degree of primary biliary cirrhosis
ZHANG Da-kun1, ZHAO Yuan-yuan2, CHEN Min1, LIU Yang1, LI Meng1, ZHOU Yi-ming1, ZHAO Hong-wei1
1.Department of Ultrasound, The 302 Hospital of PLA, Beijing 100039, China;2.Department of Ultrasound, Qilu Hospital(Qingdao) of Shandong University, Qingdao Shandong 266000, China
Abstract：Objective: To investigate the clinical diagnostic value of the acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) technique in the quantitative evaluation of primary biliary cirrhosis(PBC). Methods: Fifty eight patients with PBC and 30 normal healthy controls were examined using ARFI technique. ARFI was compared by correlation with liver pathological grades in PBC. Referring to the histological stage on liver biopsy, the ARFI value was assessed by using receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve analysis. Results: The parameter of ARFI was significantly higher in PBC group((2.05±0.70) m/s) than that in control group((1.02±0.18) m/s, P<0.01). The liver stiffness at ARFI sono-elastography were (1.64±0.58)m/s for the patients with group Ⅰ, (1.83±0.53) m/s for those with group Ⅱ, (2.37±0.65) m/s for those with group Ⅲ, and (2.68±0.67) m/s for those with group Ⅳ, respectively. This results showed that the ARFI values were significantly different(P＜0.01) among the different stages of PBC. A positive correlation was found between the stiffness of the liver and the pathological grade of PBC(r=0.57, P<0.01). The ARFI cut-off that best distinguished group of cirrhosis from patients with PBC was 2.05 m/s(accuracy: AUC=0.81). Conclusion: ARFI technique not only can examine the stiffness of the liver noninvasively, but also has potentially valuable for quantitative evaluating the degree of PBC.
2014, Vol. 25 
