Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to compare whether or not different for Young's modulus in predicting liver fibrosis (LF) in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) obtained by two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE). Methods 72 patients with CHB were enrolled in our hospital between October 2019 and June 2022, and all underwent liver biopsies. The LF was determined by Scheuer score, and Scheuer score≥S2 was defined as significant LF. Based on 2D-SWE of color Doppler ultrasonography, the Young's modulus was determined by its median value (Method 1) or by its mean value (Method 2). The diagnostic performance of Young's modulus was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). Results The liver histopathological examination showed S0/S1 stage in 31 cases, S2 stage in 19 cases, S3 stage in 12 cases and S4 stage in 10 cases, that’s S2-S4 stage in 41 cases in our series; the Young's modulus by method one in patients with S0/S1, S2, S3 and S4 were (6.1±1.2)kPa, (8.1±1.1)kPa, (11.5±1.8)kPa and (20.9±2.5)kPa, all not significantly different compared to(6.0±1.1)kPa, (8.3±1.2)kPa, (11.6±1.5)kPa and (21.1±2.8)kPa obtained by method two (P>0.05); the Young's modulus by method one or two was positively correlated to LF(r=0.427, P<0.05; r=0.442, P<0.05); the AUCs were 0.938 or 0.956 (P>0.05) in predicting LF in patients with CHB as the Young's modulus equal to 6.04 kPa by method one or 6.14 kPa by method two was set as the cut-off-value, and the AUCs were 0.973 or 0.968(P>0.05) in predicting significant LF as the Young's modulus equal to 8.12 kPa by method one or 8.25 kPa by method two was set as the cut-off-value. Conclusion The median or mean value of five measurements of liver elastic modulus as the final parameter by 2D-SWE might have the equivalent diagnostic performance in the diagnosis of LF in patients with CHB.

Key words: Hepatitis B, Liver fibrosis, Two-dimensional shear wave elastography, Liver elastic modulus, Diagnosis