Background: Delayed intervention in chronic viral hepatitis results in progression to fibrosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Determining the degree of liver fibrosis is invaluable in the initiation of clinical interventions, prevention of progression, and prognostication of end‑stage liver disease. Considering the risks of liver biopsy (the standard for assessing fibrosis), safer methods are necessitated. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the reliability of ultrasonographic Portal Venous Index (PVI) in assessing liver fibrosis. Subjects and Methods: Doppler Ultrasonographydetermined Aspartate-Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) Score. Results: The mean age for the subjects was 35.79 ± 10.75 years and controls was 36.51 ± 11.31 years. They were sex matched. HBV was more common, with a 99:3 HBV: HCV ratio. HBV immunization compliance in both the groups was poor. The median PVI of the subjects and controls was 0.36 and 0.42, respectively, which was statistically significant (P = 0.025). There was no significant difference in median PVI between subjects with and without significant fibrosis as determined by APRI score. There was an inverse but moderate correlation between PVI and APRI score (r = −0.57, P = 0.569). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was 0.524 (95% confidence interval: 0.36–0.69). The cutoff for PVI was 0.34 with a sensitivity of 57.1% and a specificity of 57.4%. Conclusion: PVI is useful in distinguishing healthy individuals from virus‑induced chronic liver diseases but could not adequately determine the degree of liver fibrosis.
Soyebi et al. (Thu,) studied this question.