Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine, Vol 17, Issue 5 321-325, Copyright © 1998 by American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
Comparison of sonograms and liver histologic findings in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection
R. Kutcher, G. S. Smith, F. Sen, S. F. Gelman, S. Mitsudo, S. N. Thung and J. F. Reinus
Department of Radiology, The Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York 10467, USA.
Gray scale ultrasonographic images of the liver were correlated with
histologic findings in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection.
The gray scale patterns of 64 livers with chronic hepatitis C virus
infection were categorized as normal, fatty, fibrofatty, fibrotic, or
inflammatory and were graded as mild, moderate, or severe. Liver biopsy
specimens also were analyzed for the presence of fat, inflammation, and
fibrosis and graded similarly. No correlation was found between fatty and
fibrofatty sonographic findings with any of the three histologic patterns.
Correlations were found between fibrotic sonographic findings and both
fibrotic and inflammatory histologic findings (r = 0.27; P = 0.03).
Although some pathologic features of liver disease were detected by
ultrasonography, no useful correlation was noted between results of
sonography and histologic examination.
