Transient elastography compared to liver biopsy and morphometry for predicting fibrosis in pediatric chronic liver disease: Does etiology matter?

Table 1 Basic clinical characteristics of the studied groups

Parameter	HCV	AIH	Wilson disease	P value
	(n = 50)	(n = 20)	(n = 20)
Age (yr)	8.50 ± 3.51	8.98 ± 2.98	12.05 ± 4.25	0.003
Sex [male, n (%)]	39 (78)	7 (35)	13 (65)	0.003
Jaundice, n (%)	0 (0)	18 (90)	5 (25)	< 0.0001
Abdominal enlargement, n (%)	0 (0)	5 (25)	15 (75)	< 0.0001
Liver US, n (%)				< 0.0001
Normal	50 (100)	0 (0)	1 (5)
Enlarged	0 (0)	20 (100)	13 (65)
Shrunken	0 (0)	0 (0)	6 (30)
Splenomegaly US, n (%)	0 (0)	16 (80)	20 (100)	< 0.0001
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)	0.97 ± 0.24	7.70 ± 3.72	3.37 ± 2.85	< 0.0001
Direct bilirubin (mg/dL)	0.24 ± 0.17	5.58 ± 3.24	1.8 ± 1.30	< 0.0001
Albumin (g/dL)	4.40 ± 0.61	3.71 ± 1.71	3.55 ± 0.71	< 0.0001
Aspartate transaminase (U/L)	27.21 ± 14.75	225.10 ± 21.7	76.59 ± 68.43	< 0.0001
Alanine transaminase (U/L)	29.52 ± 14.93	218.65 ± 14.2	87.05 ± 56.26	< 0.0001
Gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (U/L)	28.66 ± 13.80	52.50 ± 19.22	51.25 ± 37.89	< 0.0001
Alkaline phosphatase (U/L)	127.82 ± 74.13	122.25 ± 45.03	222.30 ± 134.23	< 0.0001
Prothrombin time (s)	13.2 ± 1.1	14.87 ± 3.13	16.18 ± 5.31	0.003
Activity grade, n (%)				< 0.0001
Minimal (A1-A3)	40 (80)	6 (30)	0 (0)
Mild (A4-A8)	8 (16)	8 (40)	18 (90)
Moderate (A9-A12)	2 (4)	6 (30)	2 (10)
Fibrosis category, n (%)				< 0.0001
Absent (F0)	4 (8)	0 (0)	0 (0)
Mild (F1)	32 (64)	1 (5)	0 (0)
Moderate (F2-F3)	14 (28)	7 (35)	6 (30)
Severe (F4-F6)	0 (0)	12 (60)	14 (70)
Fibrosis area fraction (%)	2.72 ± 1.66	17.41 ± 9.24	12.68 ± 4.59	< 0.0001
Liver stiffness (kPa)	5.75 ±1.81	22.13 ± 14.23	20.05 ± 10.57	< 0.0001

AIH: Autoimmune hepatitis; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; US: Ultrasonography.