J Gastroenterol Hepatol Endosc | Volume 3, Issue 2 | Research Article | Open Access
Osamu Okawa, Toshikuni Suda, Naohiko Tokutomi, Ryosaku Shirahashi and Masaya Tamano*
Department of Gastroenterology, Saitama Medical Center, Dokkyo Medical University, Japan
*Correspondance to: Masaya Tamano
Fulltext PDFPurpose: The purpose of this study was to observe the changes over time in the Velocity of the Shear wave (Vs) in Hepatitis C patients during Direct-Acting Antiviral agent (DAA) treatment.
Methods: Shear Wave Elastography (SWE) was performed at baseline, at the End of Treatment (EOT), and 12 weeks (follow-up 12) and 24 weeks (follow-up 24) after EOT in Hepatitis C patients. Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT), Alpha-Feto Protein (AFP), and Mac-2 Binding Protein Glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) levels were measured at the same times.
Results: Data from 92 patients were analyzed. Mean Vs measured by SWE was high (1.57 m/s ± 0.29 m/s), but it decreased significantly to 1.46 m/s ± 0.27 m/s during the 12-week DAA treatment period. Vs at follow-up 12 further decreased significantly to 1.42 m/s ± 0.25 m/s, but later plateaued. ALT and AFP also decreased significantly from baseline to follow-up 12, followed by a plateau. Mean M2BPGi decreased significantly from 2.93 ± 2.62 Cut-Off Index (C.O.I.) at baseline to 1.58 C.O.I. ± 1.30 C.O.I. at EOT (p=0.00000). Mean M2BPGi decreased significantly until follow-up 12 (p=0.00045) and then tended to further decrease at follow-up 24 (p=0.09807).
Conclusion: Vs measured using SWE in Hepatitis C patients improved with 12 weeks of DAA therapy. This improvement continued until follow-up 12 and then plateaued.
Direct-acting antiviral agent; Hepatitis C; Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer; Shear wave elastography; Velocity of the shear wave
Okawa O, Suda T, Tokutomi N, Shirahashi R, Tamano M. Shear Wave Velocity Improves in Hepatitis C Patients Treated with Direct-Acting Antiviral Agents. J Gastroenterol Hepatol Endosc. 2018;3(2):1040.