Elastography for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis

Abstract

ELASTOGRAPHY FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF LIVER CIRRHOSIS Ekott Nyikkeabasi Bassey, Kochubiei O. Elastography is a technique used for diagnosis which works on the principle of measuring the elasticity of organs and tissues. This principle works because organs and tissues have different values of elasticity when they are normal and when they are pathological. Also, there are marked differences in the elasticity of organs or tissues depending on the level of pathology with benign tumours being more elastic/compressible than malignant tumours which are almost not compressible. Liver cirrhosis is a slow progressing disease where healthy liver tissue is replaced by scar tissue which blocks or slows down the processing of nutrients, blood, drugs, hormones and toxins in the liver. Methods of diagnosing and staging liver cirrhosis include histological methods which involve biopsies, biochemical methods which involve the use of serum markers and lately elastography. Problems with histology include sampling error and slow progression of liver fibrosis from normal to cirrhosis. Also, investigation of serum markers is invasive procedure which requires time for analysis thereby translating into more than one visit to the physician. Elastography for the diagnosis or staging of liver cirrhosis is done by taking a picture of the liver using ultrasound technology before compression (deformation) and after compression. The two images could be compared and the degree of compression noted. Compression could be achieved using manual compression by an operator using a transducer (static elastography), organ compression by heartbeat or vascular pulsations, push pulse waves compression and compression by supersonic shear waves. The advantages of elastography for the diagnosis of liver cirrhosis include non-invasiveness, speed, accuracy and the fact that it requires only one hospital visit. With the technology being developed further, it would likely be a key player in the diagnosis or staging of liver cirrhosis possibly combined with other methods.