Student and Faculty Publications
Publication Date
9-25-2024
Journal
World Journal of Virology
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a health burden with consequent morbidity and mortality. Liver biopsy is the gold standard for evaluating fibrosis and assessing disease severity and prognostic purposes post-treatment. Noninvasive alternatives for liver biopsy such as transient elastography (TE) and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) are critical needs.
AIM: To evaluate TE and DW-MRI as noninvasive tools for predicting liver fibrosis in children with CHC.
METHODS: This prospective cross-sectional study initially recruited 100 children with CHC virus infection. Sixty-four children completed the full set of investigations including liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using TE and measurement of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) of the liver and spleen using DW-MRI. Liver biopsies were evaluated for fibrosis using Ishak scoring system. LSM and liver and spleen ADC were compared in different fibrosis stages and correlation analysis was performed with histopathological findings and other laboratory parameters.
RESULTS: Most patients had moderate fibrosis (73.5%) while 26.5% had mild fibrosis. None had severe fibrosis or cirrhosis. The majority (68.8%) had mild activity, while only 7.8% had moderate activity. Ishak scores had a significant direct correlation with LSM (
CONCLUSION: TE and liver ADC were helpful in predicting significant fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis C virus infection with a better performance of liver ADC.
Keywords
Apparent diffusion coefficient, Chronic hepatitis C, Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging, Liver fibrosis, Liver stiffness, Transient elastography
Included in
Bioinformatics Commons, Biomedical Informatics Commons, Hepatology Commons, Medical Sciences Commons, Oncology Commons, Pediatrics Commons
Comments
Data Availability Statement
PMID: 39323451