Elastography in Chronic Liver Diseases

Abstract

Elastography is useful for diagnosing and grading hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic liver diseases (CLD). In addition, it may be used as a noninvasive tool for surveillance and prognostication of patients with complications related to CLD. Elastography uses real-time ultrasound to assess for tissue elasticity and is a fast, simple, reproducible, and reliable method for noninvasive liver fibrosis evaluation. Management of chronic liver disease is dependent on the grade of liver fibrosis to ascertain the urgency and choice of treatment and advice on further screening for cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. This chapter will highlight the role of elastography in the evaluation of chronic liver disease including hepatitis B and C and HIV-related liver disease and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).