Results of Ultrasound Elastography of the Liver in Surgical Patients with Obesity

Abstract

Purpose. To evaluate the relationship between liver elastography (LE) and anthropometric measurements – body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) – in surgical obese and non-obese patients. Materials and methods. The study included 120 patients, who underwent abdominal surgery for various surgical diseases. The patients were divided into 2 groups: the control group without obesity (n=60) and the main group with obesity (n=60). The correlation between LE results and the main studied parameters was evaluated with the help of Spearman rank R correlation method. Results. No pathological changes were found in the control group. In the main group, echographically revealed changes were estimated in the liver parenchyma: increased echogenicity of the liver parenchyma in 29 (48.3±5.6%) patients and heterogeneous echogenicity of the parenchyma in 31 (51.3±5.6%) patients (alternating hyperechoic and hypoechoic areas). Elastrographic changes noted in the liver varied depending on the BMI and WC. Thus, with the increase of BMI and WC, the elasticity of the liver tissue decreased and the degree of hepatosteatosis increased. Conclusion. The correlation between the results of ultrasound liver elastography and anthropometric measurements was found in obese patients, especially with visceral (abdominal) obesity (with saggy belly). Obesity increases the severity of morphological changes in the liver tissue, which leads to steatosis and decreased liver elasticity.