Diagnostic efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided liver biopsy for diffuse liver diseases and its predictors - a multicentric retrospective analysis.

Aim of the study: Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)-guided liver biopsy (LB) has become an increasingly popular method of tissue acquisition for evaluating liver diseases. Despite its advantages, EUS-LB has not been widely adopted in clinical practice due to concerns regarding efficacy and safety. Present data on EUS-LB from India are scarce. We aimed to study the diagnostic outcome and safety of EUS-guided liver biopsy.

Material and methods: This is a retrospective analysis of prospectively maintained data from January 2021 to October 2022 of consecutive patients undergoing EUS-LB at four tertiary care centers in India. The primary outcome was sample adequacy, while secondary outcomes were rate of successful pathological diagnoses and incidence of adverse events (AE).

Results: A total of 74 patients (median age: 44.5 years, 50.0% males) were included. The majority of the patients underwent left-lobe biopsy (62/74, 83.7%), and a 19-G Franseen FNB needle was most commonly used (61/74, 82.4%). Wet heparin suction was used in most cases (60/74, 81.1%). There were five mild AEs observed (one case of self-limited bleeding and four cases of post-procedural pain). Adequate and optimal samples were obtained in 71 (95.9%) and 49 (66.2%) cases, with a conclusive diagnosis being made in 97.3% (72/74) of the patients. On multivariate analysis, the presence of ascites was a negative predictor of optimal sample (odds ratio [OR] = 0.128, 95% CI: 0.017-0.96).

Conclusions: EUS-LB is a safe and viable alternative to percutaneous liver biopsy, achieving diagnosis in > 95% of cases. EUS-LB can be performed safely even in patients with mild ascites, although ascites reduces the chances of getting an optimal sample.