COMPARISON OF SONOGRAMS AND LIVER HISTOLOGIC-FINDINGS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION

Gray scale ultrasonographic images of the liver were correlated with h istologic findings in patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infectio n. The gray scale patterns of 64 livers with chronic hepatitis C virus infection were categorized as normal, fatty, fibrofatty, fibrotic, or inflammatory and were graded as mild, moderate, or severe. Liver biop sy specimens also were analyzed for the presence of fat, inflammation, and fibrosis and graded similarly. No correlation was found between f atty and fibrofatty sonographic findings with any of the three histolo gic patterns. Correlations were found between fibrotic sonographic fin dings and both fibrotic and inflammatory histologic findings (r = 0.27 ; P = 0.03). Although some pathologic features of liver disease were d etected by ultrasonography, no useful correlation was noted between re sults of sonography and histologic examination.