Assessment of liver fibrosis by transient elastography in young children with chronic hepatitis B virus infection

Background This study aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of transient elastography (TE) and biopsy for the detection of liver fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods This single-center prospective study included 157 CHB children aged 0-6 years. All patients underwent liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by TE and liver biopsy, separated by an interval of less than 1 week. Results The LSM, aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) were positively correlated with activity grade and fibrosis stage in CHB children. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of LSM for identifying significant (F >= 2) and advanced (F >= 3) fibrosis were 0.732 and 0.941, respectively. The cut-off values, specificity, and sensitivity for significant fibrosis were 5.6 kPa, 75.7%, and 67.4%, respectively; the corresponding values for advanced fibrosis were 6.9 kPa, 91.5%, and 81.3%, respectively. Compared to LSM, the overall diagnostic performances of APRI and FIB-4 for significant and advanced fibrosis were suboptimal, with low AUCs and sensitivity. Since LSM, platelet, and Log(10) (hepatitis B surface antigen) were independent factors associated with the fibrosis stage (F < 2 and F >= 2), they were used to formulate the LPS index for the prediction of F >= 2. The AUC of LPS (for F >= 2) was higher than that of LSM (0.792 vs. 0.732, p < 0.05), and had an improved sensitivity (76.6% vs. 67.4%). Conclusions TE is a promising technology for the diagnosis of advanced fibrosis in CHB children aged 0-6 years.

Automated summary

The study aimed to compare transient elastography (TE) and biopsy for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). TE showed promise in diagnosing advanced fibrosis in CHB children aged 0-6 years.