This study examined the reliability and stability of ultrasound-guided attenuation parameter (UGAP) measurements for evaluating hepatic steatosis, focusing on two distinct methods and various measurement counts. Conducted from September to December 2022, this retrospective analysis included 206 patients who underwent liver UGAP testing. Two methods were compared: static single-frame multi-point measuring and dynamic multi-frame single-point measuring. For each method, ten UGAP values per patient were recorded, and medians were calculated based on the first 3, 5, 7, and 10 values to represent each patient’s UGAP value. Statistical analysis was then applied to compare the UGAP values across both methods and multiple measurement times.
Results showed that UGAP values were consistent across both methods, with no significant statistical differences, regardless of whether values were measured three, five, seven, or ten times (p-values of 0.689, 0.270, 0.298, and 0.091). Furthermore, no substantial difference emerged among UGAP values across the different measurement counts (p-values of 0.554 and 0.916), indicating that fewer measurements did not affect the results’ accuracy. The study concluded that UGAP measurements, whether taken by static or dynamic methods and repeated multiple times, consistently produced reliable data for assessing hepatic steatosis. The findings suggest that taking UGAP measurements only three times is likely sufficient for each patient in clinical settings, enhancing efficiency without compromising accuracy.
These insights highlight UGAP as a stable, dependable method for non-invasive hepatic fat assessment, with potential to streamline evaluations in routine clinical practice.
