Keywords:
Liver, Abdomen, Ultrasound, Elastography, Comparative studies, Biopsy, Cirrhosis
Authors:
W. L. Leong1, L. L. Lai1, N. R. Nik Mustapha2, A. Vijayananthan1, S. Mahadeva1, K. Rahmat1, W. K. Chan1; 1Kuala Lumpur/MY, 2Alor Setar/MY
DOI:
10.26044/ecr2019/C-2416
Aims and objectives
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease and is estimated to affect approximately 25% of general population worldwide.
[1] Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) the more severe form of NAFLD can progress to fibrosis and cirrhosis.
[2] While liver biopsy was used for the assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease,
it is invasive and is associated with possible severe complications.
[3] Liver biopsy has been largely replaced by non invasive tests for the assessment of liver fibrosis.
Point shear wave elastography (pSWE) and transient elastography (TE) using Fibroscan are non-invasive methods for the diagnosis of fibrosis stage in patients with chronic liver disease.
[4] TE uses a mechanical vibrating device which produces a vibration that propagates through the liver.
The velocity of the vibration is measured and is used to estimate liver stiffness which has been shown to correlate with liver fibrosis.
[5] pSWE uses acoustic radiation force impulse to generate shear wave.
Its velocity is measured and is used to estimate liver stiffness which has been shown to correlate with liver fibrosis.
It has an added advantage in which it is integrated into a B mode US system which allows real time anatomic localisation.
[5] Our objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of shear wave elastography (SWE) for assessing liver fibrosis in Non Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and to compare its performance with that of transient elastography (TE).