Noninvasive tools to assess hepatic fibrosis: ready for prime time? - PubMed (original) (raw)
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Noninvasive tools to assess hepatic fibrosis: ready for prime time?
Paul A Schmeltzer et al. Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2011 Sep.
Abstract
Often regarded as the gold standard for fibrosis assessment, liver biopsy carries associated risks; however, it is less than ideal. The need for noninvasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis for disease staging, prognosis, progression, and treatment response is clear. Advances in serologic testing and conventional imaging techniques have reduced the need for liver biopsy. Areas of research include defining cutoff values for specific diseases, further head-to-head comparisons of noninvasive modalities, examination of algorithms using both serum markers and imaging, and the cost-effectiveness of these various tests for diagnostic as well as screening purposes.
Figures
Figure 1
Representative areas of hepatic parenchyma examined by transient elastography (left panel) and MRE (right panel) for detecting stage of hepatic fibrosis. A larger region of interest is available for calculating mean liver stiffness with MRE (From Talwalkar JA. Elastography for detecting hepatic fibrosis: options and considerations. Gastroenterology 2008;135:299–302 with permission)
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