AIM:To determine if liver stiffness(LS) measurements by means of transient elastography(TE) correlate with the presence of significant esophageal varices(EV) and if they can predict the occurrence of variceal bleeding...AIM:To determine if liver stiffness(LS) measurements by means of transient elastography(TE) correlate with the presence of significant esophageal varices(EV) and if they can predict the occurrence of variceal bleeding.METHODS:We studied 1000 cases of liver cirrhosis divided into 2 groups:patients without EV or with grade 1 varices(647 cases) and patients with significant varices(grade 2 and 3 EV)(353 cases).We divided the group of 540 cases with EV into another 2 subgroups:without variceal hemorrhage(375 patients) and patients with a history of variceal bleeding(165 cases).We compared the LS values between the groups using the unpaired t-test and we established cut-off LS values for the presence of significant EV and for the risk of bleeding by using the ROC curve.RESULTS:The mean LS values in the 647 patients without or with grade 1 EV was statistically significantly lower than in the 353 patients with significant EV(26.29 ± 0.60 kPa vs 45.21 ± 1.07 kPa,P < 0.0001).Using the ROC curve we established a cut-off value of 31 kPa for the presence of EV,with 83% sensitivity(95%CI:79.73%-85.93%) and 62% specificity(95% CI:57.15%-66.81%),with 76.2% positive predictive value(PPV)(95% CI:72.72%-79.43%) and 71.3% negative predictive value(NPV)(95% CI:66.37%-76.05%)(AUROC 0.7807,P < 0.0001).The mean LS values in the group with a history of variceal bleeding(165 patients) was statistically significantly higher than in the group with no bleeding history(375 patients):51.92 ± 1.56 kPa vs 35.20 ± 0.91 kPa,P < 0.0001).For a cut-off value of 50.7 kPa,LS had 53.33% sensitivity(95% CI:45.42%-61.13%) and 82.67% specificity(95% CI:78.45%-86.36%),with 82.71% PPV(95% CI:78.5%-86.4%) and 53.66% NPV(95% CI:45.72%-61.47%)(AUROC 0.7300,P < 0.0001) for the prediction of esophageal bleeding.展开更多
Measurement of portal pressure is pivotal in the evaluation of patients with liver cirrhosis. The measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient represents the reference method by which portal pressure is estimat...Measurement of portal pressure is pivotal in the evaluation of patients with liver cirrhosis. The measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient represents the reference method by which portal pressure is estimated. However, it is an invasive procedure that requires significant hospital resources, including experienced staff, and is associated with considerable cost. Non-invasive methods that can be reliably used to estimate the presence and the degree of portal hypertension are urgently needed in clinical practice. Biochemical and morphological parameters have been proposed for this purpose, but have shown disappointing results overall. Splanchnic Doppler ultrasonography and the analysis of microbubble contrast agent kinetics with contrast-enhanced ultrasonography have shown better accuracy for the evaluation of patients with portal hypertension. A key advancement in the non-invasive evaluation of portal hypertension has been the introduction in clinical practice of methods able to measure stiffness in the liver, as well as stiffness/congestion in the spleen. According to the data published to date, it appears to be possible to rule out clinically significant portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis (i.e., hepatic venous pressure gradient ≥ 10 mmHg) with a level of clinically-acceptable accuracy by combining measurements of liver stiffness and spleen stiffness along with Doppler ultrasound evaluation. It is probable that the combination of these methods may also allow for the identification of patients with the most serious degree of portal hypertension, and ongoing research is helping to ensure progress in this field.展开更多
AIM To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of Fibro Scan(FS) in detecting esophageal varices(EV) in cirrhotic patients.METHODS Through a systemic literature search of multiple databases, we reviewed 15 studies using e...AIM To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of Fibro Scan(FS) in detecting esophageal varices(EV) in cirrhotic patients.METHODS Through a systemic literature search of multiple databases, we reviewed 15 studies using endoscopy as a reference standard, with the data necessary to calculate pooled sensitivity(SEN) and specificity(SPE), positive and negative LR, diagnostic odds ratio(DOR) and area under receiver operating characteristics(AUROC). The quality of the studies was rated by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy studies-2 tool. Clinical utility of FS for EV was evaluated by a Fagan plot. Heterogeneity was explored using meta-regression and subgroup analysis. All statistical analyses were conducted via Stata12.0, MetaD isc1.4 and RevM an5.RESULTS In 15 studies(n = 2697), FS detected the presence of EV with the summary sensitivities of 84%(95%CI: 81.0%-86.0%), specificities of 62%(95%CI: 58.0%-66.0%), a positive LR of 2.3(95%CI: 1.81-2.94), a negative LR of 0.26(95%CI: 0.19-0.35), a DOR of 9.33(95%CI: 5.84-14.92) and an AUROC of 0.8262. FS diagnosed the presence of large EV with the pooled SEN of 0.78(95%CI: 75.0%-81.0%), SPE of 0.76(95%CI: 73.0%-78.0%), a positive and negative LR of 3.03(95%CI: 2.38-3.86) and 0.30(95%CI: 0.23-0.39) respectively, a summary diagnostic OR of 10.69(95%CI: 6.81-16.78), and an AUROC of 0.8321. A meta-regression and subgroup analysis indicated different etiology could serve as a potential source of heterogeneity in the diagnosis of the presence of EV group. A Deek's funnel plot suggested a low probability for publication bias.CONCLUSION Using FS to measure liver stiffness cannot provide high accuracy for the size of EV due to the various cutoff and different etiologies. These limitations preclude widespread use in clinical practice at this time; therefore, the results should be interpreted cautiously given its SEN and SPE.展开更多
文摘AIM:To determine if liver stiffness(LS) measurements by means of transient elastography(TE) correlate with the presence of significant esophageal varices(EV) and if they can predict the occurrence of variceal bleeding.METHODS:We studied 1000 cases of liver cirrhosis divided into 2 groups:patients without EV or with grade 1 varices(647 cases) and patients with significant varices(grade 2 and 3 EV)(353 cases).We divided the group of 540 cases with EV into another 2 subgroups:without variceal hemorrhage(375 patients) and patients with a history of variceal bleeding(165 cases).We compared the LS values between the groups using the unpaired t-test and we established cut-off LS values for the presence of significant EV and for the risk of bleeding by using the ROC curve.RESULTS:The mean LS values in the 647 patients without or with grade 1 EV was statistically significantly lower than in the 353 patients with significant EV(26.29 ± 0.60 kPa vs 45.21 ± 1.07 kPa,P < 0.0001).Using the ROC curve we established a cut-off value of 31 kPa for the presence of EV,with 83% sensitivity(95%CI:79.73%-85.93%) and 62% specificity(95% CI:57.15%-66.81%),with 76.2% positive predictive value(PPV)(95% CI:72.72%-79.43%) and 71.3% negative predictive value(NPV)(95% CI:66.37%-76.05%)(AUROC 0.7807,P < 0.0001).The mean LS values in the group with a history of variceal bleeding(165 patients) was statistically significantly higher than in the group with no bleeding history(375 patients):51.92 ± 1.56 kPa vs 35.20 ± 0.91 kPa,P < 0.0001).For a cut-off value of 50.7 kPa,LS had 53.33% sensitivity(95% CI:45.42%-61.13%) and 82.67% specificity(95% CI:78.45%-86.36%),with 82.71% PPV(95% CI:78.5%-86.4%) and 53.66% NPV(95% CI:45.72%-61.47%)(AUROC 0.7300,P < 0.0001) for the prediction of esophageal bleeding.
文摘Measurement of portal pressure is pivotal in the evaluation of patients with liver cirrhosis. The measurement of the hepatic venous pressure gradient represents the reference method by which portal pressure is estimated. However, it is an invasive procedure that requires significant hospital resources, including experienced staff, and is associated with considerable cost. Non-invasive methods that can be reliably used to estimate the presence and the degree of portal hypertension are urgently needed in clinical practice. Biochemical and morphological parameters have been proposed for this purpose, but have shown disappointing results overall. Splanchnic Doppler ultrasonography and the analysis of microbubble contrast agent kinetics with contrast-enhanced ultrasonography have shown better accuracy for the evaluation of patients with portal hypertension. A key advancement in the non-invasive evaluation of portal hypertension has been the introduction in clinical practice of methods able to measure stiffness in the liver, as well as stiffness/congestion in the spleen. According to the data published to date, it appears to be possible to rule out clinically significant portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis (i.e., hepatic venous pressure gradient ≥ 10 mmHg) with a level of clinically-acceptable accuracy by combining measurements of liver stiffness and spleen stiffness along with Doppler ultrasound evaluation. It is probable that the combination of these methods may also allow for the identification of patients with the most serious degree of portal hypertension, and ongoing research is helping to ensure progress in this field.
文摘AIM To investigate the diagnostic accuracy of Fibro Scan(FS) in detecting esophageal varices(EV) in cirrhotic patients.METHODS Through a systemic literature search of multiple databases, we reviewed 15 studies using endoscopy as a reference standard, with the data necessary to calculate pooled sensitivity(SEN) and specificity(SPE), positive and negative LR, diagnostic odds ratio(DOR) and area under receiver operating characteristics(AUROC). The quality of the studies was rated by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy studies-2 tool. Clinical utility of FS for EV was evaluated by a Fagan plot. Heterogeneity was explored using meta-regression and subgroup analysis. All statistical analyses were conducted via Stata12.0, MetaD isc1.4 and RevM an5.RESULTS In 15 studies(n = 2697), FS detected the presence of EV with the summary sensitivities of 84%(95%CI: 81.0%-86.0%), specificities of 62%(95%CI: 58.0%-66.0%), a positive LR of 2.3(95%CI: 1.81-2.94), a negative LR of 0.26(95%CI: 0.19-0.35), a DOR of 9.33(95%CI: 5.84-14.92) and an AUROC of 0.8262. FS diagnosed the presence of large EV with the pooled SEN of 0.78(95%CI: 75.0%-81.0%), SPE of 0.76(95%CI: 73.0%-78.0%), a positive and negative LR of 3.03(95%CI: 2.38-3.86) and 0.30(95%CI: 0.23-0.39) respectively, a summary diagnostic OR of 10.69(95%CI: 6.81-16.78), and an AUROC of 0.8321. A meta-regression and subgroup analysis indicated different etiology could serve as a potential source of heterogeneity in the diagnosis of the presence of EV group. A Deek's funnel plot suggested a low probability for publication bias.CONCLUSION Using FS to measure liver stiffness cannot provide high accuracy for the size of EV due to the various cutoff and different etiologies. These limitations preclude widespread use in clinical practice at this time; therefore, the results should be interpreted cautiously given its SEN and SPE.
