LAUSR

BACKGROUND No previous study have evaluated transient elastography for predicting esophageal varices in hepatosplenic schistosomiasis. AIM To investigate noninvasive methods of predicting esophageal varices in patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis mansoni. METHODS Cross-sectional multicentric study included 51 patients with hepatosplenic schistosomiasis. Patients underwent ultrasonography-dopplerfluxometry, upper endoscopy, complete blood cell count and transient elastography (Fibroscan®) for liver and spleen stiffness measurement (LSM and SSM). Noninvasive scores previously established for cirrhotic population were studied: platelet count to spleen diameter ratio (PSR), LSM-spleen diameter to platelet ratio score (LSPS) and varices risk score (VRS). We proposed a version of LSPS and VRS by replacing LSM with SSM and named them SSPS and modified-VRS, respectively. RESULTS Esophageal varices were detected in 42 (82.4%) subjects. Individuals with varices presented higher SSM (73.5 vs 36.3 Kpa, p=0.001), splenic vein diameter (10.8 vs 8.0 mm, p=0.017), SSPS (18.7 vs 6.7, p=0.003) and modified-VRS (4.0 vs 1.4, p=0.013), besides lower PSR (332 vs 542, p=0.038), than those without varices. SSPS was independently associated with varices presence (OR=1.19, 95%CI 1.03-1.37, p=0.020) after multivariate analysis. In a model excluding noninvasive scores, SSM was independently associated with varices diagnosis (OR=1.09, 95%CI 1.03-1.16, p=0.004). AUROC was 0.856 (95%CI 0.752-0.961, p=0.001) for SSM and 0.816 (95%CI 0.699-0.932, p=0.003) for SSPS (p=0.551). CONCLUSIONS Spleen-related variables were predictors of esophageal varices: SSM, splenic vein diameter, SSPS, modified-VRS and PSR. Multivariate models indicated that SSM and SSPS are useful tools for predicting varices in non-cirrhotic portal hypertension by hepatosplenic schistosomiasis and may be used in clinical practice.