Liver fibrosis in children: a comprehensive review of mechanisms, diagnosis, and therapy

Liver fibrosis assessment in pediatric population - can ultrasound elastography be an alternative method to liver biopsy? A systematic review

Liver diseases of various etiologies are becoming increasingly common in the pediatric population. So far, the gold diagnostic standard in these disorders is liver biopsy. This procedure is invasive, painful and requires general anesthesia in this group of patients. Due to the continuous development of new research techniques, such as liver elastography, it is necessary to evaluate them in the context of their diagnostic usefulness. Ultrasound elastography, as a quick and effective method, is being used more and more often in the assessment and monitoring of liver dysfunction in both adults and children. There are several techniques of liver elastography, such as transient elastography, shear wave elastography consisting of various subtypes such as two-dimensional shear wave elastography, acoustic radiation force impulse and point shear wave elastography, which differ in terms of the measurement technique and the achieved results. The purpose of our review was to determine whether techniques of liver elastography could replace liver biopsy. Although now, based on the analyzed papers, elastography cannot replace liver biopsy, in our opinion, the role of this tool in monitoring pediatric patients with liver diseases will grow in the coming years.

FIB-4 and APRI scores for progressive liver fibrosis diagnosis in children with biliary atresia

Introduction

Finding non-invasive methods to predict the degree of liver fibrosis is very important in managing children with biliary atresia. Therefore, we explored the predictive value of APRI, FIB-4, and serological markers for liver fibrosis in children with biliary atresia.

Methods

This study retrospectively reviewed data from children diagnosed with BA between March and December 2022. Liver tissue pathology specimens were obtained during surgery. The serum markers were measured within 2 days before the Kasai procedure or liver transplantation. The aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and the four-factor-based fibrosis index (FIB-4) were calculated. The outcome was the diagnosis of progressive liver fibrosis.

Results

This study reviewed the data from 41 children with biliary atresia. APRI had 52% sensitivity and 83% specificity for progressive liver fibrosis, while FIB-4 had 83% sensitivity and 67% specificity. Their areas under the curve were not significantly different from those of conventional markers.

Conclusion

Although they were not better than conventional markers, APRI and FIB-4 can be used as follow-up markers for progressive liver fibrosis in patients with biliary atresia, but their predictive value was moderate. Additional studies are necessary to determine whether they could be combined with other markers to improve their predictive value.