Liver Stiffness Measurement Predicts Hepatic Events, Death in Chronic Hep B

HealthDay News—For patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is associated with hepatic events and death, while metabolic syndrome increases the risk of cardiovascular events, according to a study published online in Hepatology.

Jenny Yeuk-Ki Cheng, from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and colleagues recruited 1,466 CHB patients for LSM with transient elastography and detailed metabolic profiling. Patients were followed for any clinical event.

The researchers found that 93 and 44 patients developed hepatic and cardiovascular events, respectively, at a mean follow-up of 88±20 months; 70 patients died. The cumulative probability of hepatic events was higher for patients with baseline LSM >8 kPa versus ≤8 kPa at 8 years (12.3% versus 3.1%; P <.001). The cumulative probability of cardiovascular events was higher for patients with metabolic syndrome (8% versus 2.1%; P <.001). High LSM had no impact on cardiovascular events, and metabolic syndrome had no effect on hepatic events. LSM >8 kPa was an independent risk factor for death (adjusted hazard ratio [HR], 1.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.1-3.2); metabolic syndrome was not (adjusted HR, 1.3; 95% CI, 0.8-2.4).

“Metabolic syndrome increased the risk of cardiovascular events but not hepatic events and death; LSM was the important risk factor of hepatic events and death in CHB patients,” the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to the pharmaceutical industry.

Reference

Cheng JY-K, Wong VW-S, Tse Y-K, et al. Metabolic syndrome increases cardiovascular events but not hepatic events and death in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Hepatology. 2016. doi: 10.1002/hep.28778