The Role of Shear Wave Elastography in Predicting Early Stage Liver Fibrosis

Aim: We examined the relationship between shear wave elastography (SWE) values and histopathological results in our study. Thus, we found the sensitivity of SWE in demonstrating early fibrosis. Materials and Methods: A total of consecutive 70 patients with chronic hepatitis B were prospectively evaluated. The patients included in fibrosis stages (F) 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 according to Ishak scoring were examined with SWE. SWE measurements of F2, F3 and F4 patients who were found to have early stage fibrosis were compared with those of F0 and F1 patients. Results: The velocity+SD, and kPa+SD values in the group requiring treatment (F2, F3 and F4) were significantly higher than the group not requiring treatment (F0 and F1 )(p < 0.05). The sensitivity rate of the 1.85 cut-off value for velocity+SD was 53.8%, the positive prediction rate was 80.8%, the specificity rate was 83.3%, and the negative prediction rate was 58.1%. For kPa+SD, the cut-off value of 10.8 had a sensitivity rate of 51.3%, a positive prediction rate of 95.2%, a specificity of 96.7%, and a negative predictive rate of 60.4%. A significant correlation was observed between the fibrosis score and the kPa+SD distribution. Conclusion: SWE can differentiate the patients requiring treatment (F2, F3 and F4) from the patients not requiring treatment.