Acoustic Radiation Forced Impulse of the Liver and the Spleen, Combined with Spleen Dimension and Platelet Count in New Ratio Scores, Identifies High-Risk Esophageal Varices in Well-Compensated Cirrhotic Patients
Antonio F. M. Vainieri,
Elisa Brando,
Antonio De Vincentis,
Giulia Di Pasquale,
Valentina Flagiello,
Paolo Gallo,
Francesca Barone,
Teresa Massaro Cenere,
Evelyn Di Matteo,
Antonio Picardi,
Giovanni Galati
Affiliations
Antonio F. M. Vainieri
Department of Internal Medicine, S. Giovanni Addolorata Hospital, 00184 Rome, Italy
Elisa Brando
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Antonio De Vincentis
Operative Research Unit of Internal Medicine, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Giulia Di Pasquale
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Valentina Flagiello
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Paolo Gallo
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Francesca Barone
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Teresa Massaro Cenere
Department of Internal Medicine, Sapienza University, 00161 Rome, Italy
Evelyn Di Matteo
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Antonio Picardi
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Giovanni Galati
Operative Research Unit of Clinical Medicine and Hepatology, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Campus Bio-Medico, 00128 Rome, Italy
Acoustic radiation forced impulse (ARFI) is an integrated ultrasound method, measuring stiffness by point shear wave elastography. To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the ARFI of the liver and the spleen, combined with spleen dimension and platelet count, in predicting high-risk esophageal varices (HRVs) in cirrhotic patients, a prospective and cross-sectional study was conducted between February 2017 and February 2021. The following ratio scores were calculated based on ARFI measurements: ALSDP (ARFI Liver–Spleen Diameter-to-Platelet Ratio Score), ASSDP (ARFI Spleen–Spleen Diameter-to-Platelet Ratio Score), ASSAP (ARFI Spleen–Spleen Area-to-Platelet Ratio Score), and ALSAP (ARFI Liver–Spleen Area-to-Platelet Ratio Score). In 100 enrolled subjects, spleen ARFI, ASSDP, and ASSAP were significantly associated with HRVs in the prospective short- and long-term follow-ups and in the cross-sectional study (p p 0.7). In our study, ARFI ratio scores can predict, in well-compensated cirrhotic patients, the risk of developing HVRs in short- and long-term periods.
