Observational Study
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World J Gastroenterol. Jun 7, 2014; 20(21): 6626-6631
Published online Jun 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i21.6626
Controlled attenuation parameter for evaluating liver steatosis in chronic viral hepatitis
Giovanna Ferraioli, Carmine Tinelli, Raffaella Lissandrin, Mabel Zicchetti, Barbara Dal Bello, Gaetano Filice, Carlo Filice
Giovanna Ferraioli, Raffaella Lissandrin, Mabel Zicchetti, Gaetano Filice, Carlo Filice, Department of Infectious Diseases, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Medical School University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Carmine Tinelli, Clinical Epidemiology and Biometric Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Barbara Dal Bello, Department of Pathology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, 27100 Pavia, Italy
Author contributions: Ferraioli G and Tinelli C contributed equally to this work; Ferraioli G, Tinelli C and Filice C designed the research; Lissandrin R, Zicchetti M and Dal Bello B performed the research; Tinelli C analyzed the data; Ferraioli G, Zicchetti M and Lissandrin R wrote the paper; Tinelli C, Dal Bello B, Filice G and Filice C reviewed the manuscript; Ferraioli G, Tinelli C, Lissandrin R, Zicchetti M, Dal Bello B, Filice G and Filice C approved the final version; all authors of the Liver Steatosis Study Group performed the research, reviewed the manuscript and approved the final version.
Supported by Fibroscan device was made available for the study by Echosens (Paris, France)
Correspondence to: Giovanna Ferraioli, MD, Researcher, Department of Infectious Diseases, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Medical School University of Pavia, Via Taramelli 5, 27100 Pavia, Italy. giovanna.ferraioli@unipv.it
Telephone: +39-382-502887 Fax: +39-382-501505
Received: December 12, 2013
Revised: February 9, 2014
Accepted: March 8, 2014
Published online: June 7, 2014
Processing time: 176 Days and 14.3 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: A number of factors may affect response to treatment of patients with chronic viral hepatitis and it is well known that patients with liver steatosis are less responsive to antiviral drugs. On the other hand, early stages of liver steatosis are usually reversible with appropriate intervention. Controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) is a new method for non-invasive quantification of liver steatosis. The results of our study show that CAP is highly and significantly correlated with the extent of liver fat accumulation and it could be a useful tool in the clinical setting to diagnose the presence/absence of liver steatosis.