WEI Yutong, PAN Liulan, et al. J Clin Hepatol, 2015, 31(3)

•To explore the correlation of spleen stiffness measured by FibroTouch with esophageal and gastric varices in patients with liver cirrhosis.

•Spleen and liver stiffness were measured by FibroTouch in 72 patients with liver cirrhosis who received gastroscopy.
•Pearson's correlation analysis was used to investigate the correlation between the degree of esophageal varices and spleen stiffness.

•With the increase in the Child-Pugh score in patients, the measurements of liver and spleen stiffness showed a rising trend.
•Correlation was found between the measurements of spleen and liver stiffness (r = 0.367, P < 0.05).
•The differences in measurements of spleen stiffness between patients with Child-Pugh classes A, B and C were all significant (t = 5.149, 7.231, and 6.119, respectively; P = 0.031, 0.025 and 0.037, respectively) .
•The measurements of spleen and liver stiffness showed marked increases in patients with moderate and severe esophageal and gastric varices.
•The ROC curve analysis showed that the area under the ROC curve, sensitivity, and specificity for spleen stiffness were significantly higher than those for liver stiffness and platelet count/spleen thickness.

•The spleen stiffness measurement by FibroTouch shows a good correlation with the esophageal and gastric varices in patients with liver cirrhosis.
•FibroTouch is safe and noninvasive, and especially useful for those who are not suitable for gastroscopy.