TO STUDY THE CORRELATION OF THE CLINICAL AND LABORATORY FINDINGS WITH TRANSIENT ELASTOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN PATIENTS OF LIVER DISEASE (EARLY FIBROSIS)

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Transient elastography is a new,non invasive, rapid and reproducible method allowing evaluation of  liver fibrosis by measuring liver stiffness. This study aims to correlate the clinical and laboratory findings in patients of liver disease (early fibrosis) with LSM vaues obtained by T.E.

METHODOLOGY: Patients presented with non specific as well as specific clinical symptomatology and signs suggestive of liver disease were subjected to elaborate history, lab parameters ,usg abdomen and subsequently T.E.

RESULTS: Total of 105 patients were enrolled for the study. 5 were lost in follow up. In our study transient elastography though correlated well with certain liver enzymes like AST,ALT,GGT, S.albumin  as well as with TG and LDL with p<0.05 . LSM values using T.E when compared with echogenicity grading of abdominal sonography showed that out of 39 patients with normal USG abdomen, 10 patients had underlying fibrosis.

CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that T.E is very important to detect early fibrosis in either asymptomatic patients with normal lab parameters and sonography or in patients with prominent clinical symptomatology and abnormal liver function tests and sonography who may not give consent for invasive liver biopsy for confirmation of fibrosis on the basis of histopathology.

KEY WORDS: Liver fibrosis; Transient Elastography ; Shear waves ; Liver Stiffness Measurement