Liver Stiffness Measurement by Fibroscan in Patients With Hepatitis B

Abstract

About 6 percent (2%-7%) of the world’s population is chronically infected by the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The role of fibroscan for fibrosis assessment in HBV patients has not been widely studied. The present study was designed for the assessment of hepatic fibrosis by fibroscan in HBV positive patients. This is a cross-sectional study with two groups of case and control. According to the physical examination, lab data, abdominal ultrasound, and hepatitis viral load, the case group was categorized into three subgroups: inactive carrier, chronic hepatitis, and cirrhosis. The Control group was selected from a healthy population of 145 HBV patients, and 370 healthy persons entered the study. The case group included 35 inactive carriers, 63 chronic hepatitis B, and 47 cirrhotic patients, and their mean amount of fibrosis (measured by fibroscan) was 6.169 kpa, 7.758 kpa, and 24.0255 kpa, respectively. Also, the mean amount of fibrosis was 5.5510 (SD=2.43) in the control group. There was a statistically significant difference between cirrhotic patients and other groups (P<0.001). Also, a strong association between viral load and fibrosis degree was observed in chronic hepatitis B patients (P<0.001, R2=0.7811). Fibroscan is a novel instrument for the estimation of the liver fibrotic stage in HBV cirrhotic patients.