Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate diagnostic performance of liver shear wave velocity (Vs) and various noninvasive parameter combination in the assessment of liver cirrhosis in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC). Methods 83 patients with PBC were encountered in our hospital between April 2021 and June 2024, all underwent liver biopsy and ultrasound examination to record liver fibrosis index (LFI), fibrosis related index (F Index), inflammation activity index (A Index), and adiposity attenuation coefficient (ATT). Fibrosis index based on factor 4 (FIB-4) and aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index (APRI) were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was drawn to evaluate the diagnostic efficacy. Results Of the 83 patients with PBC, liver cirrhosis was proven by histo-pathological examination in 22 cases (26.5%), and PBC without liver cirrhosis were found in 61 cases (73.5%); blood PLT counts in cirrhosis patients was 117.5(99.3,139.5)×10⁹/L, significantly lower than that in patients without cirrhosis [174.0(139.0, 216.0)×10⁹/L,P＜0.05]; FIB-4 and APRI socres, Vs, LFI, and F index were 3.4 (2.7, 4.9), 1.2 (0.9, 1.4), (2.7±0.4) m/s, (3.4±0.7) and (2.8±0.4), all significantly higher than [2.2 (1.4, 2.9), 0.8 (0.5, 1.2), (1.7±0.4) m/s, (2.7±1.1) and (1.7±0.7), respectively, P＜0.05] in those without; ROC analysis showed that the AUCs were 0.791, 0.694, 0.955, 0.695 and 0.919, respectively, when FIB-4 score, APRI, Vs, LFI, and F index were applied to evaluate the occurrence of cirrhosis in PBC patients, with Vs having the highest diagnostic efficacy; the AUC was 0.969, when FIB-4 and Vs combination was established, much superior to an parameter did alone. Conclusion The noninvasive assessment of cirrhosis in patients with PBC by using elastography and liver fibrosis model is satisfactory, which needs further clinical investigation.

Key words: Primary biliary cholangitis, Liver cirrhosis, Ultrasound elastograph, Liver fibrosis index, Diagnosis