The application of FibroScan in the diagnosis of patients with hepatitis B virus infection

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the application of FibroScan in HBV patients and to evaluate the changes of liver stiffness measurement(LSM) in hepatitis B patients.Methods This study was a randomized,open-label clinical study.All 74 HBV patients who underwent at least two FibroScan measurements from July 2009 to February 2010 were included.The levels of ALT,AST and TBil in serum were examined by Automatic Analyzer.All the 74 patients(chronic hepatitis B n=22,compensated cirrhosis n=32,decompensated cirrhosis n=20) were treated with telbivudine.Results FibroScan values in hepatitis B patients decreased 6 months after treatment.There were significant differences in the patients pre-and post-therapy.The liver function of all the patients decreased significantly after 6 months.There was a significant relationship between the fibrosis index(HA) and LSM(r=0.517,P=0.048) in all patients.Conclusion Our findings suggest that liver stiffness can be improved by treatment in chronic hepatitis B patients.LSM changes were sensitive in the hepatitis B patients treated with Telbivudine.FibroScan can be a useful tool for assessing treatment efficacy in clinical trials of new drugs.