Diagnostic accuracy of point shear wave elastography in the detection of portal hypertension in pediatric patients

• Published in: Diagnostic and interventional imaging Vol. 99; no. 3; pp. 151 - 156
• Main Authors: Burak Özkan, M., Bilgici, M.C., Eren, E., Caltepe, G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France Elsevier Masson SAS 01.03.2018
• Subjects: Case-Control Studies; Child; Child, Preschool; Elasticity Imaging Techniques - methods; Female; Humans; Hypertension, Portal - diagnosis; Liver; Liver - diagnostic imaging; Liver Diseases - complications; Male; Pediatric; Point shear wave elastography (p-SWE); Portal hypertension; Prospective Studies; Sensitivity and Specificity; Spleen; Spleen - diagnostic imaging; Spleen; Pediatric; Liver; Point shear wave elastography (p-SWE); Portal hypertension
• ISSN: 2211-5684; 2211-5684
• DOI: 10.1016/j.diii.2017.10.009

The purpose of this study was to determine the usefulness of point shear wave elastography (p-SWE) of the liver and spleen for the detection of portal hypertension in pediatric patients. The study consisted of 38 healthy children and 56 pediatric patients with biopsy-proven liver disease who underwent splenic and liver p-SWE. The diagnostic performance of p-SWE in detecting clinically significant portal hypertension was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Reliable measurements of splenic and liver stiffness with p-SWE were obtained in 76/94 (81%) and 80/94 patients (85%), respectively. The splenic stiffness was highest in the portal hypertension group (P<0.01). At ROC curve analysis, the area under the curve in the detection of portal hypertension was lower for splenic p-SWE than for liver p-SWE (0.906 vs. 0.746; P=0.0239). The cut-off value of splenic p-SWE for portal hypertension was 3.14m/s, with a specificity of 98.59% and a sensitivity of 68.18%. The cut-off value of liver p-SWE for portal hypertension was 2.09m/s, with a specificity of 80.28% and a sensitivity of 77.27%. In pediatric patients, p-SWE is a reliable method for detecting portal hypertension. However, splenic p-SWE is less accurate than liver p-SWE for the diagnosis of portal hypertension.