Accuracy of 2-phase abdominal ultrasound for diagnosing biliary atresia

Background: Biliary atresia is a dangerous neonatal disorder characterized by an inflammatory and fibrotic obliteration of the extrahepatic biliary tree, which results in progressive hepatic failure and, if ignored, death from end-stage liver disease. Due to clinical similarities that distinguish biliary atresia from other causes of neonatal cholestasis, early identification is often challenging. Ultrasound is recommended in screening for infantile cholestasis because it is inexpensive, non-invasive, safe from radiation and does not require anesthesia. It is hoped that abdominal ultrasound can be an alternative for diagnosing biliary atresia. This observational design analyzes abdominal ultrasound diagnostic tests for biliary atresia. Method: This study uses medical data records of children who were diagnosed with biliary atresia and underwent liver biopsy and 2-phase abdominal ultrasound. Statistical analyses using the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U-test. The chi-square test was employed in qualitative data to establish the significance of differences between groups. The results were considered significant if the p-value was less than 0.05. Diagnostic performance was measured using sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV). Results: With a liver biopsy investigation, there were 89 participants with biliary atresia and 71 subjects without. Abdominal ultrasonography had a sensitivity of 77.5%, a specificity of 69%, a positive predictive value of 78.4%, a negative predictive value of 71%, and an accuracy of 73.7%. Conclusion: Two-phase abdominal ultrasonography can help diagnose biliary atresia early.