Ultrasound steatometry in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: pilot results

Objective. To evaluate the effectiveness of the ultrasound steatometry technique in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Materials and methods. 68 patients aged 19–62 years (median age 40.5 years) were examined, 30 men (44.1%) and 38 women (55.9%), who underwent a single diagnostic algorithm of 7 (8) stages: questioning, clinical examination, noninvasive bioimpedance, biochemical blood test, liver ultrasound in B-mode, determination of hepatorenal index, ultrasound steatometry, liver biopsy. Results. In 4 patients (5.88%), a remote clinical picture of the metabolic syndrome, fatty liver infiltration was diagnosed. Signs of steatohepatitis were present in 19 (27.9%) patients, signs of cirrhosis — in 2 (2.9%). The sensitivity and specificity were 60.3% and 72.6%, respectively, for the B-mode, 44.3% and 51.9%, respectively, for the ultrasound measurement of the hepatorenal index, 90.6% and 92.2%, respectively, for ultrasonic steatometry. Conclusion. Ultrasound steatometry is an informative method for screening of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Correlation (r) of the ultrasound diagnosis of steatosis with biopsy at the stage S0 corresponds to 0.81, at the stage S1 — to 0.68, at the stage S2 — to 0.74, at the stage S3 — to 0.88, that indicates a high information value of this method.