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Transplant Toxicities

Value of liver elastography and abdominal ultrasound for detection of complications of allogeneic hemopoietic SCT

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 49, pages 806–811 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

Hepatic complications contribute to morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hemopoietic SCT. Liver Doppler ultrasound and elastography represent promising methods for pretransplant risk assessment and early detection of complications. Ultrasound (liver and spleen size, liver perfusion) and elastography (transient elastography (TE); right liver lobe acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (r-ARFI); left liver lobe ARFI (l-ARFI)) were prospectively evaluated in patients with indications for allo-SCT. Measurements were performed before and repeatedly after SCT. Results were compared with the incidence of life-threatening complications and death during the first 150 days after SCT. Of 59 included patients, 16 suffered from major complications and 9 of them died within the follow-up period. At baseline, liver and spleen size, liver perfusion, TE and r-ARFI did not differ significantly between patients with and without severe complications. In contrast, l-ARFI was significantly elevated in patients who later developed severe complications (1.58±0.30 m/s vs 1.37±0.27 m/s, P=0.030). After SCT, l-ARFI values remained elevated and TE showed increasing liver stiffness in patients with complications. The value of conventional liver ultrasound for prediction of severe SCT complications is limited. Increased values for TE and l-ARFI are associated with severe SCT complications and demand further evaluation.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Katrin Moritz for her dedicated support in coordinating the study.

This work was supported by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany, FKZ: 01EO1001.

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Author notes

  1. T Karlas and J Weber: These authors contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Leipzig University Medical Center, IFB Adiposity Diseases, Leipzig, Germany

    T Karlas

  2. Division of Gastroenterology and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Neurology and Dermatology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    T Karlas, J Weber, H Tenckhoff, J Mössner, M Tröltzsch & V Keim

  3. Division of Hematology and Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Neurology and Dermatology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    C Nehring, R Kronenberger, D Niederwieser & T Lange

  4. Interdisciplinary Ultrasound Unit, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    M Tröltzsch & V Keim

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  1. T Karlas
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Correspondence to T Karlas.

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Competing interests

TK received travel grants from Echosens/France. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Karlas, T., Weber, J., Nehring, C. et al. Value of liver elastography and abdominal ultrasound for detection of complications of allogeneic hemopoietic SCT. Bone Marrow Transplant 49, 806–811 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/bmt.2014.61

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