Features associated with success rate and performance of fibroscan measurements for the diagnosis of cirrhosis in HCV patients:: A prospective study of 935 patients

Background/Aims: FibroScan (R), a non-invasive procedure for the diagnosis of cirrhosis, benefits only patients for which at least 10 valid shots are acquired. We investigated features associated with success rate of shots, and performance of FibroScan (R) for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. Methods: Liver biopsy and stiffness measurement were performed in HCV patients. AUROCs and mixed logistic models evaluated the influence of patient and operator features on the success of shots and the performance for the diagnosis of cirrhosis. Results: Nine hundred and thirty five (935) patients were included. Success rate of shots decreased with age, and was lower in obese than in other patients. After adjusting for age and obesity, an operator with at least 50 prior FibroScan (R) exams had a higher success rate in shots. FibroScan (R) performance for the diagnosis of cirrhosis was not influenced by the number of valid shots taken into account and by operator skills. Conclusions: After a rapid training, FibroScan (R) provides a reasonable performance for the diagnosis of cirrhosis that is not influenced substantially by any other feature. More patients will benefit from this procedure with no significant loss in performance if only 5 valid shots are requested. These results should emphasize the use of FibroScan (R) even in non-specialized units. (c) 2006 European Association for the Study of the Liver. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.