Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic performance of sound touch elastography (STE) and semi-quantitative ultrasound scoring in assessing early liver cirrhosis (LC) in patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB). Methods A total of 103 patients with CHB were enrolled in our hospital between January 2022 and June 2024, and all underwent liver biopsies and Color Doppler ultrasonography for semi-quantitative ultrasound scores and elasticity modulus (E) values. Fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB-4) was routinely calculated. The diagnostic efficacy of ultrasonic indexeswas analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results Of 103 patients with CHB, liver histo-pathological examination found early LC in 37 cases (35.9%); total score of semi-quantitative ultrasound in patients with LC was (13.9±1.7)points, much higher than [(8.6±1.2)points, P＜0.05] in patients with CHB; E value in LC group was (11.5±2.9)kPa, significantly greater than [(7.4±1.6)kPa, P＜0.05] in CHB group; peripheral blood platelet count in LC group was (112.7±41.9)×10⁹/L, much lower than [(159.6±58.3)×10⁹/L, P＜0.05], while FIB-4 score was (2.4±0.3)points, much greater than [(1.5±0.6),P＜0.05] in CHB group; the AUC was 0.963(95%CI:0.906-0.990), with sensitivity of 89.2% and specificity of 94.5%, when the E value with combination of semi-quantitative ultrasound score in predicting early LC in patients with CHB, much superior to that by any one of the parameters(P＜0.05). Conclusion STE and semi-quantitative ultrasound score have a very satisfactory diagnostic efficacy in predictingearly LC in patients with CHB, which warrant further clinical investigation.

Key words: Liver cirrhosis, Hepatitis B, Sound touch elastography, Semi-quantitative ultrasound scoring, Diagnosis