Reproducibility of transient elastography in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease

Transient elastography (TE) is gaining popularity as a non-invasive method for predicting liver fibrosis, but intraobserver and interobserver agreement and factors influencing TE reproducibility have not been adequately assessed. This study investigated these aspects.

Tertiary referral liver unit. PATIENTS: Over a 4-month period, 200 patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) with varying aetiology consecutively underwent TE and liver biopsy. INTERVENTIONS: TE was performed twice by two different operators either concomitantly or within 3 days of the bioptic procedure (METAVIR classification). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Intraobserver and interobserver agreement were analysed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and correlated with different patient-related and liver disease-related covariates.