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Maternal liver elasticity determined by acoustic radiation force impulse elastosonography in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

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Abstract

Purpose

Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is a pregnancy-specific liver disorder characterized by maternal pruritus and impaired liver function. The objective of the study was to evaluate maternal liver elasticity by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) elastosonography in ICP and to compare it with that in healthy pregnant women.

Methods

This descriptive, case–control study consisted of 33 women with healthy pregnancies and 22 women with ICP in the third trimester of gestation. Maternal liver elasticity measurements were performed by ARFI elastosonography. The maternal characteristics and perinatal outcomes of the participants were also collected.

Results

All maternal liver ARFI elastosonography scores were elevated in women with ICP compared to healthy controls (p = 0.015, p = 0.011, and p = 0.004, respectively). There was a significant positive correlation between maternal liver enzymes and ARFI elastosonography scores (r = 0.404, p = 0.002 and r = 0.389, p = 0.003, respectively). The optimal cut-off point of maternal liver ARFI-mean elastography score to identify the risk of ICP was >1.23 m/s, and the sensitivity and specificity were 68.2 and 69.7%, respectively [area under curve (AUC) 0.731, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.594–0.869).

Conclusion

The current study found that maternal liver stiffness measured by ARFI elastosonography was increased in pregnancies complicated with ICP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Dursun Odabas Tip Merkezi, Kampus, 65080, Van, Turkey

    Orkun Cetin, Erbil Karaman, Recep Yildizhan & Ali Kolusari

  2. Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Yuzuncu Yil University, Van, Turkey

    Harun Arslan & Ibrahim Akbudak

Authors
  1. Orkun Cetin
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  2. Erbil Karaman
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  3. Harun Arslan
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  4. Ibrahim Akbudak
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  5. Recep Yildizhan
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  6. Ali Kolusari
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Orkun Cetin.

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Ethical standard

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2008. Informed consent was obtained from all patients for being included in the study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Cetin, O., Karaman, E., Arslan, H. et al. Maternal liver elasticity determined by acoustic radiation force impulse elastosonography in intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy. J Med Ultrasonics 44, 255–261 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-016-0768-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10396-016-0768-z

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