Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic performance of liver parenchymal texture feature quantification by high-frequency ultrasonography (HFU) and serum alpha-fetoprotein-L3 (AFP-L3) levels in the evaluation of liver function classification in patients with hepatitis B cirrhosis. Methods 87 patients with liver cirrhosis induced by hepatitis B viral infection and 80 healthy volunteers who underwent physical examination were enrolled in our hospital between June 2019 and May 2021. According to the liver function class, the patients with liver cirrhosis were divided into Child-Pugh class A (n=34), Child-Pugh class B (n=29) and Child-Pugh class C (n=24). All the individuals underwent HFU check-up to obtain automaticallyxD, mean D and εD by software. Serum AFP-L3 was assayed by ELISA. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was applied to predict liver function class. Results ThexD, mean D, εD and serum AFP-L3 levels in patients with liver cirrhosis were (6.1±1.8), (4.8±1.2), (3.2±1.1) and (7.5±2.1)%, significantly higher than [(2.5±0.9), (1.9±0.6),(1.3±0.4) and (5.6±1.3)%, respectively, P<0.05] in healthy persons; the xD, mean D, εD and serum AFP-L3 levels in patients with liver cirrhosis class C were (6.9±2.2), (7.0±2.2), (4.3±1.3) and (9.0±2.4)%, significantly higher than [(6.5±1.7), (5.4±1.5), (3.8±1.1) and (7.9±2.1)%, respectively, P<0.05] in patients with class B or [(5.3±1.3), (3.2±1.0), (2.1±0.6) and (6.1±1.5)%, respectively, P<0.05] in patients with class A; the AUC was 0.910, with the specificity of 91.4% in predicting liver function class B when the mean D, ε D and serum AFP-L3 levels were combined, significantly higher than 70.7%, 77.6% and 75.9% (P<0.05) by any one alone. Conclusion The diagnostic efficacy of liver parenchymal texture feature quantification by high-frequency ultrasonography and serum AFP-L3 level combination in predicting liver function class B is promising, and warrants further clinical investigation.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, High-frequency ultrasonography, Liver parenchymal texture feature, Alpha-fetoprotein-L3, Child liiver function class, Diagnosis