Noninvasive tests for liver disease, fibrosis, and cirrhosis: Is liver biopsy obsolete?
review · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 20682514.
- Also identified by DOI 10.3949/ccjm.77a.09138.
- No licence information is recorded for this record.
- Because redistribution is not established, this page shows the abstract only. Follow the links below for the full text.
Abstract
Liver biopsy has been used to diagnose chronic liver disease and to assess the degree of hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. However, it is an invasive test with many possible complications and the potential for sampling error. Noninvasive tests are increasingly precise in identifying the cause of many cases of liver disease and even the amount of liver injury (fibrosis). This review discusses the role of noninvasive tests to diagnose liver disease and to assess hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis.