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Viral Hepatitis
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Liver stiffness identifies two different patterns of fibrosis progression in patients with hepatitis C virus recurrence after liver transplantation†
Article first published online: 18 OCT 2009
DOI: 10.1002/hep.23240
Copyright © 2009 American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
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How to Cite
Carrión, J. A., Torres, F., Crespo, G., Miquel, R., García-Valdecasas, J.-C., Navasa, M. and Forns, X. (2010), Liver stiffness identifies two different patterns of fibrosis progression in patients with hepatitis C virus recurrence after liver transplantation. Hepatology, 51: 23–34. doi: 10.1002/hep.23240
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Potential conflict of interest: Nothing to report.
- ‡
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Publication History
- Issue published online: 23 DEC 2009
- Article first published online: 18 OCT 2009
- Manuscript Accepted: 10 AUG 2009
- Manuscript Received: 17 APR 2009
Funded by
- Schering and Roche
- Fundación BBVA
- Instituto de Salud Carlos III. Grant Numbers: PI050230, PI080239
- Abstract
- Article
- References
- Cited By
Abstract
Significant liver fibrosis (F ≥ 2) and portal hypertension (hepatic venous pressure gradient [HVPG] ≥ 6 mmHg) at 1 year after liver transplantation (LT) identify patients with severe hepatitis C recurrence. We evaluated whether repeated liver stiffness measurements (LSM) following LT can discriminate between slow and rapid “fibrosers” (fibrosis stage F2-F4 at 1 year after LT). Eighty-four patients who had undergone LT and who were infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV) and 19 LT controls who were not infected with HCV underwent LSM at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after LT. All HCV-infected patients underwent liver biopsy 12 months after LT (paired HVPG measurements in 74); 31 (37%) were rapid fibrosers. Median LSM (in kilopascal) at months 6, 9, and 12 were significantly higher in rapid fibrosers (9.9, 9.5, 12.1) than in slow fibrosers (6.9, 7.5, 6.6) (P < 0.01 all time points). The slope of liver stiffness progression (kPa × month) in rapid fibrosers (0.42) was significantly greater than in slow fibrosers (0.05) (P < 0.001), suggesting two different speeds of liver fibrosis progression. Figures were almost identical for patients with HVPG ≥ 6 mmHg or HVPG < 6 mmHg at 1 year after LT. Multivariate analysis identified donor age, bilirubin level, and LSM as independent predictors of fibrosis progression and portal hypertension in the estimation group (n = 50) and were validated in a second group of 34 patients. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve that could identify rapid fibrosers and patients with portal hypertension as early as 6 months after LT were 0.83 and 0.87, respectively, in the estimation group and 0.75 and 0.80, respectively, in the validation group. Conclusion: Early and repeated LSM following hepatitis C recurrence in combination with clinical variables discriminates between rapid and slow fibrosers after LT. (HEPATOLOGY 2009.)