The liver, as you know, is the main laboratory of our body and the duration and quality of our life depend on its condition. Alcoholic surrogates, drugs, fake drugs, poor-quality food, fast foods and other causes imperceptibly, gradually greatly harm health, hitting this organ.
Inflammatory liver lesions are called hepatitis. The main goal of treating hepatitis is to combat the progressive buildup of scar tissue (fibrosis) of the liver. If this lesion is not treated, irreversible changes in the liver occur - cirrhosis, which sometimes leads to death. Unfortunately, the formation of cirrhosis occurs imperceptibly, therefore it is recommended that everyone, even healthy people, after 35 years old, from time to time do an examination of their liver.
Until recently, the only way to assess the condition of the liver was a biopsy, which made it possible to determine the level of inflammation of this organ and the severity of fibrosis. A new technique - liver elastography - is a non-invasive and absolutely safe organ examination using the Fibroscan French-made apparatus. Fibroscan of the liver allows you to literally in 5-10 minutes to determine the degree of damage by fibrosis to the elasticity of its tissues. Measurements carried out simultaneously at dozens of points make it possible to analyze the state of the liver structure, evaluate its functional and morphological parameters for various pathologies.
A biopsy has some limitations on the use, such as the psychological and physical discomfort of the patient, the pain of the procedure and the possibility of examining a small area of the liver tissue, which does not always correspond to the real picture of the state of the organ as a whole. Elastometry makes it possible to quickly and comfortably determine the degree of fibrosis for a patient and, accordingly, start antiviral therapy on time.
The simplicity of liver fibroscan can be compared with conventional ultrasound (ultrasound). Preparation for the procedure is not required, it does not cause discomfort. The study is carried out in a supine position with a bare stomach and chest in the lower part.
Liver scanning is a safe, non-traumatic method, used in pediatrics and does not require hospitalization of the patient. The procedure can be repeated several times, which is very important when monitoring the effectiveness of treatment during the follow-up. The patient can receive the results of the examination immediately after consultation.
Liver fibroscan is recommended for the following categories of people:
patients suffering from chronic hepatitis - viral hepatitis B and hepatitis C;
patients with cirrhosis;
people who are planning antiviral therapy (to assess the degree of fibrosis before treatment, during and after the treatment process);
patients who have reason to believe that they have chronic liver disease ;
overweight people suffering from inflammatory diseases of the liver of a non-chronic nature, as well as abusing alcohol.
It is important to note that standard examinations (ALT, AST) and ultrasound may not always really reflect the severity of fibrosis. Quite often, normal indicators are also noted with a high incidence of fibrosis. Such cases can lead to an incorrect decision, that is, refusal of treatment, which ultimately leads to the formation of cirrhosis.
An important factor is that liver fibroscan is a cheaper procedure than a biopsy, very quick and without unpleasant sensations, and the informational results are quite comparable with the biopsy data.