Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and alcoholic liver disease (ALD) are becoming the leading causes of chronic liver disease worldwide, significantly impacting public health and healthcare cost.The development of fibrosis is the main factor leading to early mortality and morbidity in NAFLD and ALD. Thus, it is important to timely and reliably evaluate these diseases at early stages, when fibrosis is not advanced or when steatosis predominates. Liver biopsy has been the standard of reference for fibrosis and steatosis, however, its invasiveness precludes its widespread use. There is growing research on non-invasive methods for diagnosing and stratifying fibrosis and steatosis in NAFLD and ALD. This review presents clinical evidence on the use of non-invasive assessment of liver disease (blood-based and imaging-based) in patients with NALFD and ALD, and proposes algorithms incorporating these tests into their management.
Liver transplantation is the only curative treatment for end-stage liver disease and some forms of liver malignancy, but organ donation has not grown at par with the number of patients in need for liver transplantation. In the United States, there were 8250 liver transplants performed in 2018, yet 12 820 candidates remained on the waiting list by the end of the year. 1 This organ shortage has put living
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