REVIEW  LIVER ELASTOGRAPHY 

Minerva Gastroenterology 2021 June;67(2):164-70

DOI: 10.23736/S2724-5985.21.02801-4

Copyright © 2021 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

lingua: Inglese

The role of elastography in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Antonio LIGUORI ¹, Maria E. AINORA ¹, Laura RICCARDI ¹, Nicoletta DE MATTHAEIS ¹, Fabrizio PIZZOLANTE ¹, Antonio GASBARRINI ^{1, 2}, Maria A. ZOCCO ^{1, 2}, Antonio GRIECO ^{1, 2}, Gianludovico RAPACCINI ^{1, 2}, Luca MIELE ^{1, 2} ✉

¹ Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, IRCCS A. Gemelli University Polyclinic Foundation, Sacred Heart Catholic University, Rome, Italy; ² Department of Medicine and Translational Surgery, Sacred Heart Catholic University, Rome, Italy

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease worldwide and its prevalence is even higher in patients with risk factors such as type 2 diabetes and obesity. Liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), particularly for the assessment of fibrosis stage that is a key prognostic factor. Noninvasive methods for assessment of liver fibrosis are a huge need in contemporary hepatology in order to stratify patient’s risk of advanced and progressive liver disease. In this perspective different imaging techniques have been developed in last decades and showed high performance in liver fibrosis evaluation. Strengths and weaknesses of all imaging methods are summarized in this review.

KEY WORDS: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; Review; Gastroenterology