Research Article Details

Article ID: A01399
PMID: 34760965
Source: Hepatobiliary Surg Nutr
Title: Accuracy of non-invasive liver stiffness measurement and steatosis quantification in patients with severe and morbid obesity.
Abstract: Background: Vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP&#8482;) have shown reliable performance predicting fibrosis and steatosis in normal- to overweight patients but have not been validated in severe to morbid obesity. This study aimed at determining the accuracy of VCTE, CAP&#8482; and the composite score FibroScan-AST (FAST) in patients with a body mass index (BMI) of &#8805;35 kg/m2. Methods: Patients scheduled for bariatric-metabolic surgery underwent preoperative VCTE/CAP&#8482; measurement, and intraoperative liver biopsy. The feasibility and accuracy of VCTE, CAP&#8482; and the composite score FAST were retrospectively analysed to evaluate fibrosis, steatosis and active fibrotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis [NASH + non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) activity score &#8805;4&#8200;+&#8200;fibrosis grade&#8200;&#8805;2] using per protocol (PP) and intent to diagnose (ITD) calculation. Results: In total, 170 patients (median BMI 44.4 kg/m2) were included in the study. Liver biopsy showed NASH, simple steatosis, and normal livers in 60.6% (n=103), 28.8% (n=49), and 10.6% (n=18), respectively. VCTE and CAP&#8482; delivered reliable results in 90.6% (n=154/170) and 90.5% (n=134/148). The AUC (PP) of VCTE, CAP&#8482;, and FAST were 0.687 (&#8805;F2), 0.786 (&#8805;F3), 0.703 (&#8805;S2), 0.738 (S3), and 0.780 (active fibrotic NASH). The AUC increased to 0.742 (&#8805;F2), 0.842 (&#8805;F3), 0.712 (&#8805;S2), 0.780 (S3), and 0.836 (active fibrotic NASH) in patients below the median BMI of 44.4 kg/m2. Conclusions: VCTE, CAP&#8482; and FAST show acceptable accuracy for the detection of fibrosis, steatosis and NASH in a real-life cohort of patients with obesity. Accuracy improves in patients with a BMI <44.4 kg/m2.
DOI: 10.21037/hbsn-20-787