Search results for "Elasticity Imaging Technique"
showing 10 items of 78 documents
Liver-related and extrahepatic events in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: a retrospective competing risks analysis.
2022
Background & Aim: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and especially fibrotic non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, is associated with high risks of liver-related events (LRE) and extrahepatic events (EHE). We evaluated the competitive risk occurrence of LRE and EHE in a large cohort of biopsy-proven NAFLD stratified according to baseline severity of fibrosis. Methods: Two thousand one hundred thirty-five patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD were enrolled. Observed cumulative incidence functions (CIFs) were used to evaluate the risk of LRE and EHE; cause-specific Cox model and predicted CIFs were fitted to identify predictors of LRE and EHE. A replication cohort of NAFLD patients with live…
Non invasive tools for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis
2014
Liver cirrhosis (LC), the end stage of many forms of chronic hepatitis of different etiologies is a diffuse process characterized by fibrosis and the conversion of normal liver architecture into structurally abnormal nodules surrounded by annular fibrosis. This chronic progressive clinical condition, leads to liver cell failure and portal hypertension, which can favour the onset of hepatocellular carcinoma. Defining the phase of the natural history is crucial for therapeutic choice and prognosis. Liver biopsy is currently considered the best available standard of reference but it has some limits, so alternative tools have been developed to substitute liver biopsy when assessing liver fibros…
Range of Normal Liver Stiffness and Factors Associated With Increased Stiffness Measurements in Apparently Healthy Individuals
2018
Background & Aims: Transient elastography (TE) is a noninvasive technique used to measure liver stiffness to estimate the severity of fibrosis. The range of liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) in healthy individuals is unclear. We performed a systematic review to determine the range of LSMs, examined by TE, in healthy individuals and individuals who are susceptible to fibrosis. Methods: We collected data from 16,082 individuals, in 26 cohorts, identified from systematic searches of Embase, Ovid MEDLINE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews for studies of liver stiffness measurements. Studies analyzed included apparently healthy adul…
Coffee and tea breaks for liver health
2017
Let food be your medicine (Hippocrates, 400 B. C.) The quality of diet, calorie intake and physical activity/sedentari-ness are pivotal drivers in the interplay between health and non-communicable diseases, and the battle against the risks associ-ated with Western-type behaviour is the top priority of medical societies and health institutions. Unfortunately, any attempt at adopting a healthy lifestyle is counteracted by unhealthy environmental pressure, which favours the diseases of affluence, including liver diseases. The typical Mediterranean diet, characterized by the consumption of complex carbohydrates, fibre-and antioxidant-rich vegetables, and polyunsaturated fatty acids, is considered…
Fibrosis evaluation by transient elastography in patients with long-term sustained HCV clearance.
2013
Background: Reversibility of advanced fibrosis after HCV-clearance is an important goal of therapy. Objectives: Measuring liver stiffness (LS) by transient elastography (TE) might be helpful in this setting. Patients and Methods: We evaluated 104 patients with biopsy-proven chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and sustained virological response (SVR) after Peg-Interferon (IFN) plus ribavirin since at least 18 months. HCV-eradication was confirmed searching for serum HCV-RNA (TMA® sensitivity > 5-10 IU/ml). Data from literature reported the best LS cut-off values for different stages of liver fibrosis were 7.1 kPa for Metavir stage 2 (F2), 9.5 kPa for F3 and 12.5 for cirrhosis (F4). Results: TE was not…
Diagnostic value of MR-based texture analysis for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
2019
PurposeTo investigate the performance of MR-based texture analysis (TA) for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).MethodsFifty-four adult patients (33 females, 21 males, mean age 49.813.5years) with biopsy-proven NAFLD were enrolled and underwent MR imaging on a 1.5T system. TA parameters were extracted on axial noncontrast 3D-GRE T1W images (slice thickness=4.6mm) using a commercially available research software (TexRAD). Receiver operating curves (ROC), areas under the ROC (AUROC) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the accuracy of each TA parameter for the diagnosis of significant (F2) and advanced fibrosis (F…
RESIST-HCV Criteria to Monitor Progression of Low-Risk Esophageal Varices in Patients With Compensated Cirrhosis After HCV Eradication: The SIMPLE St…
2022
Noninvasive criteria to predict the progression of low-risk esophageal varices (EV) in patients with compensated hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis after sustained virological response (SVR) by direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) are lacking. Our aim was to assess the diagnostic performance of Rete Sicilia Selezione Terapia-HCV (RESIST-HCV) criteria for EV progression compared with elastography-based criteria (Baveno VI, Expanded Baveno VI, and Baveno VII-HCV criteria).All consecutive patients observed at 3 referral centers with compensated HCV cirrhosis with or without F1 EV who achieved sustained virological response by DAAs were classified at last esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGDS) as RESIST-H…
In Vivo Strain Analysis of Dilated Ascending Thoracic Aorta by ECG-Gated CT Angiographic Imaging
2017
Accurate assessment of aortic extensibility is a requisite first step for elucidating the pathophysiology of an ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm (ATAA). This study aimed to develop a framework for the in vivo evaluation of the full-field distribution of the aortic wall strain by imaging analysis of electrocardiographic- (ECG) gated thoracic data of 34 patients with ATAA. Seven healthy controls (i.e., non-aneurysmal aorta) from patients who underwent ECG-gated CT angiography for coronary artery diseases were included for comparison. To evaluate the systolic function, ECG-gated computed tomography (CT) angiography was used to generate patient-specific geometric meshes of the ascending aorta…
Usefulness of the index of NASH - ION for the diagnosis of steatohepatitis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver: An external validation study
2018
Background & Aims The non-invasive identification of steatohepatitis (NASH) in patients with Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease is an unmet need in clinical practice. Index of NASH (ION) is a new tool for the prediction of NASH. We aimed to externally validate ION and to compare it with CK-18. Since necroinflammation precedes fibrosis, we also tested ION in combination with non-invasive tools for fibrosis. Methods We analysed data from 292 Italian patients (169 Southern cohort, and 123 Northern cohort) with an histological diagnosis of NAFLD. The ION, FIB-4 and NFS scores were calculated according to published algorithms. Serum cytokeratin18-Aspartate396 levels and liver stiffness (LS) by Fi…
Transient Elastography-Based Liver Stiffness Age-Dependently Increases in Children
2016
Background and Aims Pediatric use of liver transient elastography (TE) is attractive for its non-invasiveness, but reference values have not been established. We aimed to determine reference values for TE in children. Methods In pediatric patients (1 to 18 years), TE (FibroScan®) with an M probe was used for both liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and measurement of hepatic fat deposition by using a controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). The patients were divided into three relevant age groups: preschoolers (1 to 5 years), elementary school children (6 to 11 years), and adolescents (12 to 18 years). Overweight or obese patients or those with known liver disease, elevated serum liver enzymes…