Ultrasonographic Findings of Liver in Chronic Liver Disease and its Complications and Their Association with the Duration of the Disease.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the ultrasound abdomen findings in patients having viral chronic liver disease (CLD) and build correlation of these findings with the duration of disease.

STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional analytical study.

PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: Department of Medicine, Liaquat University Hospital, Hyderabad and Jamshoro, Pakistan, from February to July 2016.

METHODOLOGY: Known cases of CLD were inducted. Data was collected using a standardized form which included details of patients, duration of disease and their ultrasound abdomen findings, like liver size, echo pattern and echogenicity, nodularity, intrahepatic vessel (IHV) obliteration, ascites and splenomegaly. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 16. The association of duration of the disease on ultrasound findings was studied by means of chi-square test.

RESULTS: A total of 193 subjects (92 males, 101 females; age range 14-80 years) were taken. The average measured liver span was 13.99 ±3.14 cm, with most coarse echo pattern. About a quarter, i.e. 26.94% of the cases, had no complications; 17.62% only had ascites and 16.06% presented with IHV obliteration, and ascites with splenomegaly. The duration had no significant association with liver size, echo pattern and echogenicity, and nodularity of the liver (p-values of 0.182, 0.331 and 0.268), respectively or complications (p=0.164).

CONCLUSION: The duration of CLD had no significant association with the ultrasound findings of liver.