Clin Mol Hepatol.  2015 Mar;21(1):32-40. 10.3350/cmh.2015.21.1.32.

The factors associated with longitudinal changes in liver stiffness in patients with chronic hepatitis B

• Yo IK
• Kwon OS
• Park JW
• Lee JJ
• Lee JH
• Won IS
• Na SY
• Jang PK
• Park PH
• Choi DJ
• Kim YS
• Kim JH

• KMID: 2155289
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3350/cmh.2015.21.1.32

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS
Liver stiffness (LS) as assessed by transient elastography (TE) can change longitudinally in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The aim of this study was to identify the factors that improve LS.
METHODS
Between April 2007 and December 2012, 151 patients with CHB who underwent two TE procedures with an interval of about 2 years were enrolled. Ninety-six of the 151 patients were treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues [the antiviral therapy (+) group], while the remaining 55 patients were not [the antiviral therapy (-) group]. The two groups of patients were stratified according to whether they exhibited an improvement or a deterioration in LS during the study period (defined as an LS change of < or =0 or >0 kPa, respectively, over a 1-year period), and their data were compared.
RESULTS
No differences were observed between the antiviral therapy (+) and (-) groups with respect to either their clinical characteristics or their initial LS. The observed LS improvement was significantly greater in the antiviral therapy (+) group than in the antiviral therapy (-) group (-3.0 vs. 0.98 kPa, P=0.011). In the antiviral therapy (+) group, the initial LS was higher in the LS improvement group (n=63) than in the LS deterioration group (n=33; 7.9 vs. 4.8 kPa, P<0.001). However, there were no differences in any other clinical characteristic. In the antiviral therapy (-) group, the initial LS was also higher in the LS improvement group (n=29) than in the LS deterioration group (n=26; 8.3 vs. 6.5 kPa, P=0.021), with no differences in any other clinical characteristic.
CONCLUSIONS
A higher initial LS was the only factor associated with LS improvement in patients with CHB in this study.

Keyword

Chronic hepatitis B; Hepatic fibrosis; Liver stiffness; Transient elastography

MeSH Terms

Adult
Aged
Alanine Transaminase/blood
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use
DNA, Viral/blood
Elasticity Imaging Techniques
Female
Hepatitis B e Antigens/blood
Hepatitis B virus/genetics
Hepatitis B, Chronic/drug therapy/pathology/*ultrasonography
Humans
Logistic Models
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Middle Aged
Antiviral Agents
DNA, Viral
Hepatitis B e Antigens
Alanine Transaminase