Shear wave elastography may be sensitive and more precise than transient elastography in predicting significant fibrosis

Table 1 Basic demographics and laboratory characteristics of the study population and factors associated with the liver stiffness measurements measured by shear wave elastography and transient elastography in univariate and multivariate linear regression analyses

Variables			SWE (P value)		TE (P value)
			Univariate analysis	Multivariate analysis	Univariate analysis	Multivariate analysis
Gender (M/F)	41 (76%)/13 (24%)		0.217		0.072
Age (yr)	36.7 ± 9.96, 19.0-61.01		0.823		0.509
BMI (kg/m2)	23.9 (21.9-25.0) (16.4-30.3)2		0.818		0.232
HAI	HAI 0–4	11 (20.4%)	0.659		0.184
	HAI 5–6	18 (33.3%)
	HAI 7-12	25 (46.3%)
Fibrosis	F0	3 (5.6%)	0.000	0.000	0.000	0.037
	F1	4 (7.4%)
	F2	20 (37.0%)
	F3	22 (40.7%)
	≥F4	5 (9.3%)
WBC (109/L)	5.5 (4.3-6.6) (1.7-9.4)2		0.078		0.173
NEU (109/L)	3.1 (2.3-3.9) (1.0-7.5)2		0.490		0.500
HB (109/L)	151.0 (139-165) (100.0-180.0)2		0.053		0.184
PLT (109/L)	166.5 (128.3-219.8) (65.0-327.0)2		0.088		0.006	0.089
ALT (IU/L)	50.4 (28.8-129.2) (12.5-402.9)2		0.737		0.059
AST (IU/L)	38.9 (26.5-67.0) (16.1-179.2)2		0.338		0.531
TBIL (μmol/L)	14.5 (11.9-20.7) (7.2-45.0)2		0.046	0.512	0.000	0.013
CHE (IU/L)	7635 (6335-9076) (2138-16444)2		0.925		0.191
SCR (μmol/L)	70.1 (55.7-81.5) (40.0-120.2)2		0.719		0.916
PT (s)	11 (10.5-11.8) (9.2-13.7)2		0.879		0.125
APTT (s)	14.5 (31.9-36.3) (0.9-43.1)2		0.754		0.587
PTA (%)	101.0 (90.0-111.5) (69.0-122.0)2		0.612		0.091
INR	1.03 (0.9-1.1) (0.9-1.6)2		0.106		0.475
HBsAb (-/+)	46 (85%)/7 (13%)		0.270		0.167
HBeAg (-/+)	21 (39%)/33 (61%)		0.772		0.405
HBeAb (-/+)	27 (50%)/27 (50%)		0.539		0.523
Log10HBV DNA	4.8 (2.7-6.3) (1.3-8.4)2		0.045	0.148	0.711

¹mean ± SD, range.

²Median (interquartile range) (range). SWE: Shear wave elastography; TE: Transient elastography; BMI: Body mass index; HAI: Histology activity index; WBC: White blood cell count; NEU: Neutrophil count; HB: Hemoglobin; PLT: Platelet count; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; TBIL: Total bilirubin; CHE: Cholinesterase; SCR: Serum creatinine; PT: Prothrombin time; APTT: Activated partial thromboplastin time; PTA: Prothrombin activity; INR: International normalized ratio; HBsAb: Hepatitis B surface antibody; HBeAg: Hepatitis B e antigen; HBeAb: Hepatitis B e antibody; HBV-DNA: Hepatitis B virus DNA.

Table 2 Performance characteristics of shear wave elastography and transient elastography for staging liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients

Parameters	AUROC	Cutoff Value (kPa)	Sensitivity, %	Specificity, %	PPV, %	NPV, %	LR+	LR-
SWE	0.786	9.05	77.78	77.78	77.78	77.78	3.50	0.29
TE	0.714	8.15	59.26	66.67	64.00	62.07	1.78	0.61
FIB-4	0.551	0.91	74.07	44.44	57.14	63.16	1.33	0.58
APRI	0.556	0.37	81.48	44.44	59.46	70.59	1.47	0.42

Characteristics are based on optimal cutoff elasticity values. Pathologic analysis was the diagnostic reference standard. PPV: Positive predictive value; NPV: Negative predictive value; LR+: Positive likelihood value; LR-: Negative likelihood value; SWE: Shear wave elastography; TE: Transient elastography; FIB-4: Fibrosis-4; APRI: Aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index.