Comparative study of ultrasound attenuation analysis and controlled attenuation parameter in the diagnosis and grading of liver steatosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients

Purpose To assess the diagnostic performance of Ultrasound Attenuation Analysis (USAT) in the diagnosis and grading of hepatic steatosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) using Controlled Attenuation Parameters (CAP) as a reference. Materials and methods From February 13, 2023, to September 26, 2023, participants underwent CAP and USAT examinations on the same day. We used manufacturer-recommended CAP thresholds to categorize the stages of hepatic steatosis: stage 1 (mild) − 240 dB/m, stage 2 (moderate) − 265 dB/m, stage 3 (severe) − 295 dB/m. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves were employed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of USAT and determine the thresholds for different levels of hepatic steatosis. Results Using CAP as the reference, we observed that the average USAT value increased with the severity of hepatic steatosis, and the differences in USAT values among the different hepatic steatosis groups were statistically significant ( p < 0.05). There was a strong positive correlation between USAT and CAP ( r = 0.674, p < 0.0001). When using CAP as the reference, the optimal cut-off values for diagnosing and predicting different levels of hepatic steatosis with USAT were as follows: the cut-off value for excluding the presence of hepatic steatosis was 0.54 dB/cm/MHz (AUC 0.96); for mild hepatic steatosis, it was 0.59 dB/cm/MHz (AUC 0.86); for moderate hepatic steatosis, it was 0.73 dB/cm/MHz (AUC 0.81); and for severe hepatic steatosis, it was 0.87 dB/cm/MHz (AUC 0.87). Conclusion USAT exhibits strong diagnostic performance for hepatic steatosis and shows a high correlation with CAP values.