ArticleHepatology international2026
Noninvasive risk stratification of liver nodule development in Fontan-associated liver disease using liver stiffness measurement.
Article in Hepatology international, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
27 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionFontan-associated liver disease (FALD) is a progressive congestive hepatopathy that often leads to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Liver nodules are common in FALD; however, noninvasive predictors remain understudied. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and risk factors for liver nodule development in patients with Fontan circulation.
methodsThis prospective single-center cohort study enrolled 198 post-Fontan patients (median age 17.3 years; median time since Fontan surgery 14.0 years) who underwent abdominal ultrasound and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography between January 2015 and June 2025. Cross-sectional analysis assessed baseline predictors of liver nodules. A longitudinal subset (n = 112) was followed for a mean of 3.8 years to identify predictors of liver nodule development.
resultsAbnormal ultrasonographic findings were detected in 90% of patients, with a higher frequency in those ≥ 10 years post-Fontan. Liver nodules (≥ 1 cm) were present at baseline in 8.6% of patients. In cross-sectional multivariable analysis, only LSM remained significantly associated with liver nodules (adjusted odds ratio per 1 kPa: 1.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.12). During longitudinal follow-up, 10 patients developed liver nodules. Higher LSM (adjusted hazard ratio per 1 kPa: 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.18) and heterotaxy (adjusted hazard ratio: 9.21, 95% CI 2.50-33.97) independently predicted liver nodule development. Restricted cubic spline analysis demonstrated a monotonic increase in liver nodule risk with increasing LSM.
conclusionsThis is the first prospective study demonstrating that elevated LSM predicts liver nodule development after Fontan surgery. LSM represents a practical, noninvasive tool for risk stratification in FALD.
Indexed as
Identifiers
41951938What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.