Liver Stiffness Measurements in Patients with Different Stages of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: Diagnostic Performance and Clinicopathological Correlation

Abstract

LSM is a useful tool for evaluation of patients with NAFLD, and is the best among other non-invasive predictors of liver fibrosis.

WFUMB Guidelines and Recommendations for Clinical Use of Ultrasound Elastography: Part 3: Liver

“…So far, the number of studies that have investigated TE in NAFLD patients remains limited (Gaia et al 2011;Nobili et al 2008;Petta et al 2011;Wong et al 2010;Yoneda et al 2008;Wong et al 2012;Kumar et al 2013). TE results should be interpreted with caution because these studies have been conducted either in particular populations (Asian with low BMI or pediatric population) or with small sample size.…”

Non-invasive diagnostic approach to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease: current evidence and future perspectives

“…Liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is expressed in kPa. TABLE 4 shows the diagnostic performance of TE for the estimation of liver fibrosis in NAFLD, which has been reported in various studies [74,[103][104][105][106]. However, LSM is not reliable in a non-negligible percentage of patients (ranging from 3 to 14%) mainly due to a high body mass index (BMI ‡30) or thick subcutaneous adipose tissue that limits the transmission of the ultrasound and the propagation of elastic impulses.…”

Untitled

“…TE has a higher rate of false-positive than false-negative results and a higher negative predictive value (NPV) than positive predictive value (PPV). Therefore, the ability to diagnose bridging fibrosis or cirrhosis is insufficient for clinical decisionmaking [208,209]. A systematic review of TE in patients with NAFLD involved 9 studies and 1047 patients [210].…”