Determining Normal Liver Stiffness in Khartoum State Population by Ultrasonography

Abstract

This is a descriptive, cross sectional study which was done during July to September 2016 and was carried out at Aliaa Specialized Hospital, Khartoum- Sudan. The study discusses determining normal liver stiffness in Khartoum state population using ultrasonography. A total of “115” healthy Sudanese cases were selected randomly and aged between 5-66 years. Any cases with diabetes mellitus, or any underlying liver disease was excluded from this study. All cases were subjected to be examined using Fibroscan machine manufactured by Echosens (Paris, France). Data was collected using a data collection sheet and data analysis was done by SPSS. The study reported liver stiffness values in relation to age and in relation to gender. The study found that in 3 patients aged (5-18) years, the mean of the liver stiffness measurement LSM was[4.667±1.1547] kPa. In 26 patients aged (19-29) years the mean of the LSM was [5.035 ±1.0284] kPa. In 33 patients aged (30-40) years the mean of the LSM was [5.291 ±1.0596] kPa. In 29 patients aged (41-51) years the mean of the LSM was [5.986 ±1.2589] kPa. In 24 patients aged (52-66) years the mean of the LSM was [5.029 ± 0.9671] kPa. The overall mean of the LSM in 115 patients was [5.34 ± 1.144] kPa. The result after data analysis found that the healthy liver stiffness range is 3.5 to 7.8 kPa. There is no significant correlation between LSM and age. The mean of the LSM for female [5.588 ± 1.1847] kPa, is slightly higher than mean of the LSM for male [5.237± 1.1188] kPa. It is important to know the reference value of the liver stiffness in Sudanese population, to state the pathology easily. Further studies should be done using a larger sample size.