Diagnostic Efficacy of Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography in Patients With Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Liver Disease and Chronic Hepatitis B.

Aim of the Study: HBV-infected individuals are also presenting with MASLD. However, the value of VCTE for detecting hepatic fibrosis and steatosis in CHB patients concurrent with MASLD is unclear. In patients with combined CHB and MASLD, we intend to assess the diagnostic efficacy of VCTE in determining the extent of fibrosis and steatosis.

Methods

This retrospective study involved 368 patients diagnosed with chronic HBV infection combined with MASLD who received liver biopsy and VCTE at Xiamen City Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital from June 2018 to June 2023. The cutoff values for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) were determined via the use of the cross-validated area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve analyses to identify pairwise fibrosis stage and grade, respectively. The diagnostic statistics were calculated with a 90% fixed sensitivity and 90% specificity.

Results

An AUROC of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.76-0.95) was determined by a LSM cutoff value of 11.25 to identify patients with cirrhosis. Patients have the following values: sensitivity, 0.79; specificity, 0.90; PPV, 0.89; and NPV, 0.81. An AUROC of 0.84 (95% CI: 0.76-0.95) was determined by a CAP cutoff value of 313 to identify patients with severe steatotic liver. Patients have the following values: sensitivity, 0.86; specificity, 0.82; PPV, 0.82; and NPV, 0.85.

Conclusion

In this investigation of adult patients diagnosed with CHB with MASLD, VCTE demonstrated a robust capability to differentiate cirrhosis and severe steatotic liver.