Specialty
Treatment for chronic hepatitis, diagnosis of liver fibrosis
Profile
Hepatic fibrosis can occur after suffering from chronic hepatitis, and continuously worsening fibrosis may result in cirrhosis of the liver, which is a high risk factor of liver cancer and consequently death. Based on general ultrasound examinations, advanced cirrhosis and fatty livers can be diagnosed. For cirrhosis in the early phase, laparoscopy or hepatic biopsy can be performed. However, both laparoscopy and biopsy are invasive with a certain degree of risk, so they are not applicable for follow-up. Therefore, noninvasive examination and assessment of hepatic fibrosis and fatty liver are extremely important for both patients and physicians.
General ultrasound examination can be used to diagnose the degree of hepatic fibrosis, but the diagnosis can be fairly subjective based on the personal judgment of the examiner. ARFI (Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse Imaging) is non-invasive and can detect the degree of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis using low-frequency ultrasound. With ARFI, we can make a comprehensive and objective diagnosis of liver fibrosis based on general non-invasive ultrasound examinations, elastography, blood tests, and biochemical liver data.