Shear wave elastography in the detection of sinusoidal obstruction syndrome in adult patients undergoing allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Abstract

Hepatic sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS), also known as veno-occlusive disease (VOD) can be a life-threatening complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Diagnosis is often difficult and traditionally based on clinical parameters. Shear wave elastography (SWE) is a modern non-invasive liver stiffness measurement technique using ultrasound. In this monocentric study, we evaluated the role of SWE in diagnosing SOS/VOD in 63 adult patients undergoing HSCT from February 2020 to August 2020 in real world settings. Three patients devel-oped SOS/VOD. This was accompanied by an increase in shear wave velocity in all three patients, indicating that this method may contribute to establishing the diagnosis SOS/VOD after HSCT.