title: [Utility of Fibroscan in the evaluation of liver fibrosis].
abstract: Chronic liver diseases produce a progressive accumulation of collagenous fiber in the liver parenchyma. For years, liver biopsy has been the gold standard to quantify liver fibrosis. Currently, non-invasive alternatives are available to quantify fibrosis. Transient elastography (TE) or Fibroscan quantifies liver rigidity, which is proportional to the grade of liver fibrosis. Studies are available that have evaluated the reliability and limitations of TE in healthy individuals, in patients with acute hepatitis, in distinct chronic liver diseases and in liver transplant recipients. TE is reliable for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis (F4) and significant fibrosis (F2) but its values may vary according to the patient's characteristics and the etiology of the disease. TE can avoid liver biopsy in 90% of patients with cirrhosis and in up to 70% of those with significant fibrosis when combined with other non-invasive methods.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), CIBER de enfermedades hepáticas y digestivas (CIBERehd), Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, España. JCARRION@clinic.ub.es
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Carrión
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003094:Collagen / Q000378:metabolism; D004548:Elasticity; D054459:Elasticity Imaging Techniques; D004932:Esophageal and Gastric Varices / Q000175:diagnosis; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis; D006525:Hepatitis, Viral, Human / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006975:Hypertension, Portal / Q000473:pathology; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000473:pathology; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests
chemical_list: D003094:Collagen