Brief Articles
Copyright ©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 21, 2009; 15(27): 3398-3404
Published online Jul 21, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.3398
Table 1 Characteristics of included and non-included patients n (%)
CharacteristicsIncludedNon-included
Number of patients44226
Mean age (SE)49 (1)50 (2)
Male293 (66)17 (65)
Ethnic origin
Caucasian285 (65)17 (65)
Asian36 (8)2 (8)
North African43 (10)1 (4)
Other African78 (17)6 (23)
Anthropometric data
Height (m)1.71 (0.05)1.70 (1.91)
Weight (kg)71.7 (0.7)69.7 (2.4)
BMI (kg/m2)24.4 (0.2)24.1 (0.8)
Abdominal fold mm21.7 (0.5)26.1 (3.2)
Thoracic fold mm13.1 (0.3)13.6 (1.1)
Waist circumference cm84 (1)83 (2)
Daily alcohol ≥ 30 g/d18 (7)2 (11)
Diagnosis
HCV200 (45)13 (50)
HBV79 (18)6 (23)
NAFLD59 (13)1 (4)
HIV coinfection50 (11)4 (15)
ALD11 (3)0 (0)
Other/unknown93 (21)2 (8)
Biochemistry
ALT (IU/L)58 (3)151 (100)
AST (IU/L)48 (2)45 (6)
n = 416n = 16
Cholesterol (mmol/L)4.70 (0.05)4.50 (0.34)
n = 381n = 14
Glucose (mmol/L)5.34 (0.07)5.28 (0.16)
n = 404n = 16
Triglycerides (mmol/L)1.21 (0.06)1.10 (0.19)
n = 381n = 14
FibroTest0.40 (0.01)0.51 (0.06)
n = 442n = 18
ActiTest0.32 (0.01)0.39 (0.07)
n = 442n = 18
SteatoTest0.33 (0.01)0.27 (0.06)
n = 378n = 12
Table 2 Liver stiffness measurements applicability
Position, operator and quality criteriaApplicability (%)Presumed fibrosis stages among applicable patients F0F1/F2/F3/F4 n (%)c
Reference position306/442 (69)a167 (55)/59 (19)/51 (17)/29 (9)d
Operator 1208/329 (63)117 (56)/40 (19)/32 (15)/19 (9)
Valid10312/329 (95)
SR60300/329 (91)
IQR30220/329 (67)
Operator 298/113 (87)50 (51)/19 (19)/19 (19)/10 (10)
Valid10113/113 (100)
SR60113/113 (100)
IQR3098/113 (87)
Anterior position357/442 (81)a223 (62)/52 (15)/49 (14)/33 (9)d
Operator 1255/329 (78)166 (65)/34 (13)/31 (12)/24 (9)
Valid10300/329 (91)
SR60296/329 (90)
IQR30271/329 (82)b
Operator 2102/113 (90)57 (56)/18 (18)/18 (18)/9 (9)
Valid10111/113 (98)
SR60111/113 (98)
IQR30103/113 (91)b
Lower position302/442 (68)a170 (56)/49 (16)/47 (16)/36 (12)
Operator 1224/329 (68)126 (56)/36 (16)/36 (16)/26 (12)
Valid10299/329 (91)
SR60291/329 (88)
IQR30240/329 (73)b
Operator 278/113 (69)44 (56)/13 (17)/11 (14)/10 (13)
Valid1096/113 (85)
SR6094/113 (83)
IQR3086/113 (76)b
Table 3 Strength of concordance between stiffness measurements assessed in three positions in the biopsy area
Position (No. of patients)Method assessing concordance
Quantitative concordanceSpearman mean (95% CI)Intra class coefficient mean (95% CI)
Reference vs anterior (196)0.81 (0.75-0.85)0.90 (0.86-0.94)
Reference vs lower (196)0.77 (0.70-0.82)0.86 (0.79-0.93)
Anterior vs lower (196)0.77 (0.70-0.82)0.87 (0.80-0.94)
Two classes concordanceDiscordance rate (%)Kappa mean (SE)
Advanced vs non advanced fibrosis
7.1 cutoff
Reference vs anterior (196)35 (17.9)a0.63 (0.07)
Reference vs lower (196)33 (16.8)b0.66 (0.07)
Anterior vs lower (196)34 (17.3)c0.64 (0.07)
8.8 cutoff
Reference vs anterior (196)22 (11.2)0.71 (0.07)
Reference vs lower (196)28 (14.3)0.65 (0.07)
Anterior vs lower (196)20 (10.2)0.74 (0.07)
Table 4 Factors associated with discordance between reference and anterior positions n (%)
CharacteristicsConcordantDiscordantP
Number of patients22147
Mean age (SE)47 (1)49 (2)0.16
Male151 (68)34 (72)0.59
Ethnic origin
Caucasian134 (61)30 (64)0.69
Asian16 (7)4 (8)0.68
North African27 (12)6 (13)0.87
Other African44 (20)7 (15)0.38
Anthropometric data
Height (m)1.71 (0.01)1.71 (0.10)0.96
Weight (kg)69.8 (0.9)73.6 (2.2)0.12
BMI (kg/m2)23.7 (0.2)25.0 (0.5)0.02
Abdominal fold (mm)19.2 (0.6)23.0 (1.6)0.03
Thoracic fold (mm)11.4 (0.4)14.5 (0.9)0.001
Waist circumference (cm)82 (1)86 (2)0.047
Daily alcohol ≥ 30 g/d18/137 (13)2/23 (9)0.55
Diagnosis
HCV102 (46)18 (38)0.29
HBV44 (20)9 (19)0.88
NAFLD21 (10)11 (23)0.002
HIV coinfection29 (13)5 (11)0.63
ALD8 (4)0 (0)0.16
Other46 (20)9 (19)0.88
Biochemistry
ALT (IU/L)55 (3)81 (19)0.56
n = 221n = 47
AST (IU/L)47 (2)57 (6)0.54
n = 221n = 47
Cholesterol (mmol/L)4.63 (0.08)4.85 (0.13)0.06
n = 186n = 42
Glucose (mmol/L)5.26 (0.09)5.42 (0.17)0.15
n = 197n = 46
Triglycerides (mmol/L)1.15 (0.06)1.37 (0.19)0.10
n = 186n = 42
FibroTest0.40 (0.01)0.41 (0.06)0.76
n = 221n = 47
ActiTest0.32 (0.02)0.34 (0.04)0.59
n = 221n = 18
SteatoTest0.30 (0.01)0.38 (0.04)0.04
n = 183n = 42
Table 5 Strength of concordance between LSM and FibroTest (FT) according to positions
Position (No. of patients)Method assessing
Kappa
Discordance rate (%)
Quantitative concordanceSpearman mean (95% CI)Intra class coefficient mean (95% CI)
All positions applicable
Reference (196)0.46 (0.34-0.56)0.55 (0.33-0.67)
Anterior (196)0.46 (0.34-0.56)0.56 (0.34-0.68)
Lower (196)0.40 (0.27-0.51)0.50 (0.38-0.62)
Mean of positions (196)0.47 (0.35-0.57)0.56 (0.34-0.68)
At least one position applicable
Reference (306)0.44 (0.35-0.53)0.51 (0.39-0.63)
Anterior (357)0.46 (0.38-0.54)0.54 (0.32-0.66)
Lower (302)0.39 (0.29-0.49)0.50 (0.38-0.62)
Two classes concordanceDiscordance rate n (%)Kappa mean (SE)
Cutoff 7.1 kPa
All positions applicable
Reference (196)66 (33.6)a0.30 (0.07)
Anterior (196)61 (31.1)0.32 (0.07)
Lower (196)71 (36.2)0.24 (0.07)
Mean of positions (196)67 (34.2)0.28 (0.07)
At least one position applicable
Reference (306)107 (34.9)b0.28 (0.06)
Anterior (357)112 (31.6)0.33 (0.05)
Lower (302)109 (36.1)c0.24 (0.06)
Cutoff 8.8 kPa
All positions applicable
Reference (196)46 (23.5)a0.45 (0.07)
Anterior (196)54 (27.6)0.33 (0.07)
Lower (196)56 (28.6)0.34 (0.07)
Mean of positions (196)52 (26.5)0.37 (0.07)
At least one position applicable
Reference (306)82 (26.8)b0.38 (0.06)
Anterior (357)108 (30.2)0.30 (0.05)
Lower (302)84 (27.8)c0.34 (0.06)