Introduction The prognosis and treatment of chronic liver diseases mainly depend on the extent and the progression of liver fibrosis. For example, in patients with chronic hepatitis C, the leading and the most important cause of chronic liver diseaseworldwide[1][2], precise staging of hepatic fibrosis is essential as fibrosis is the most important predictor of disease outcome and influences the indication for antiviral therapy [3],[4][5].
Histopathological examination of a liver specimen obtained by percutaneous biopsy has traditionally been considered as the gold standard for detecting the degree of hepatic fibrosis[6],However, liver biopsy is an invasive and painful procedure, often with poor patient acceptance and also carries a significant, although small risk of life-threatening complications[7].
The accuracy of liver biopsy for assessing fibrosis has also been questioned, observer variability due to sampling errors and observer variability Intra- and inter- that may result in over or underestimationof fibrosis stage [8], Even when an experiencedphysician performs liver biopsy and an expert pathologistinterprets the results, liver biopsy has up to a 20% error rate in disease staging: In addition, it is certainly not the adequate procedure for serially repeatedassessment of disease progression. …show more content…
Ideally, a non-invasive marker of liver fibrosis should be liver-specific, easy to perform, reliable and inexpensive. In addition, it should be accurate not only for the grading of fibrosis, but also for monitoring disease progression and treatment efficacy. A variety ofmarkers have been evaluated for their ability to assess liver fibrosis, mostly in patients with chronic hepatitis C[9],The latest technological advance in this setting is the measurement of liver stiffness by means of ultrasound
Histopathological examination of a liver specimen obtained by percutaneous biopsy has traditionally been considered as the gold standard for detecting the degree of hepatic fibrosis[6],However, liver biopsy is an invasive and painful procedure, often with poor patient acceptance and also carries a significant, although small risk of life-threatening complications[7].
The accuracy of liver biopsy for assessing fibrosis has also been questioned, observer variability due to sampling errors and observer variability Intra- and inter- that may result in over or underestimationof fibrosis stage [8], Even when an experiencedphysician performs liver biopsy and an expert pathologistinterprets the results, liver biopsy has up to a 20% error rate in disease staging: In addition, it is certainly not the adequate procedure for serially repeatedassessment of disease progression. …show more content…
Ideally, a non-invasive marker of liver fibrosis should be liver-specific, easy to perform, reliable and inexpensive. In addition, it should be accurate not only for the grading of fibrosis, but also for monitoring disease progression and treatment efficacy. A variety ofmarkers have been evaluated for their ability to assess liver fibrosis, mostly in patients with chronic hepatitis C[9],The latest technological advance in this setting is the measurement of liver stiffness by means of ultrasound