An assessment of digital image analysis to measure fibrosis in liver biopsy specimens of patients with chronic hepatitis C

M. J. O'Brien, N. M. Keating, S. Elderiny, S. Cerda, A. P. Keaveny, N. H. Afdhal, D. P. Nunes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

90 Scopus citations

Abstract

The aim was to assess the validity of a digitally computed fibrosis ratio as a measure of fibrosis stage in liver biopsy specimens. We scored 230 liver biopsy specimens from patients with chronic hepatitis C for fibrosis using modified Knodell criteria; fibrosis ratios were computed from digital images that encompassed the complete trichrome-stained section of each case. Although an overall correlation between fibrosis ratio and ordinal score was present, subset analysis showed that this correlation existed only among biopsy specimens with high scores (3-6, early bridging fibrosis to established cirrhosis). There was no correlation or difference between category means found among biopsy specimens with low scores (0-3, normal to early bridging fibrosis). Furthermore, concordance by both estimates in direction of fibrosis change among serial liver biopsy specimens was found in only 11 (30%) of 37 pairs compared. The findings suggest that a qualitative assessment of the computerized fibrosis pattern is necessary for the interpretation of computerized fibrosis ratio measurements, particularly in patients with early stage fibrosis.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)712-718
Number of pages7
JournalAmerican journal of clinical pathology
Volume114
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - 2000

Keywords

  • Cirrhosis
  • Classification
  • Fibrosis ratio
  • Knodell
  • Validity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Pathology and Forensic Medicine

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