Liver elasticity test

Liver elasticity test is a new type of surgery. It is very important for checking cirrhosis and hepatitis B. It can clearly analyze whether there is a problem with the liver, so you should have some understanding of the method of liver elasticity test. The principle of liver elasticity test is to determine the hardness changes of liver tissue through the frequency of ultrasound, and to determine whether there is liver fibrosis through the feedback information of hardness and frequency.

The instantaneous elasticity test of the liver is a non-invasive technology that evaluates the progression of cirrhosis by scanning liver fibrosis instead of liver biopsy. The main instruments currently used in clinical practice in China include "FibroScan" and "Fibrotouch". The principle is to generate low-frequency vibrations through an ultrasonic transducer. When ultrasonic vibrations pass through liver tissue, elastic shear waves are generated. The wave speed is related to the elasticity of the liver. The higher the liver hardness, the faster the wave speed. Therefore, the wave speed can be converted into the liver elasticity value by detecting it, and the result is expressed in kilopascals (kPa). The results can reflect the hardness of the liver. The higher the hardness, the more obvious the degree of fibrosis. In recent years, with the improvement of technology, integrated and comprehensive detection systems have emerged that can simultaneously provide liver tissue morphology, liver fibrosis degree and liver fatty degeneration.

It is currently believed that the liver stiffness value obtained through transient elasticity testing has a good correlation and high accuracy with the degree of histological fibrosis, and can be used to monitor the progression of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. It has become an important supplement or even alternative method to liver tissue biopsy and has been widely recognized and used worldwide. It is suitable for various chronic liver diseases, such as chronic hepatitis B, hepatitis C, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, drug-induced, metabolic, autoimmune, cholestatic liver diseases, etc. It is also suitable for follow-up after liver transplantation. It is recommended that all patients with chronic liver disease use it as a routine observation indicator for long-term outpatient follow-up.

The transient elastography system also has inevitable disadvantages, mainly because the measurement results will be affected by many factors, such as the degree of liver inflammation activity, obesity, fatty liver, age, etc., which may affect the accuracy of liver elasticity detection. However, with the widespread clinical application of this technology and the accumulation of data in recent years, a more scientific interpretation of the measurement results can be made. If the clinical results of liver elasticity test are inconsistent with the patient's condition, it is necessary to comprehensively consider factors such as liver function and body mass index, and further examination is required if necessary.