Korean J Med.  2010 Nov;79(5):475-480.

The diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

• Lee JW

Abstract

It is important to have a safe and effective diagnostic tool for liver fibrosis. Currently, liver biopsy is the technique of choice for determining hepatic fat deposition and the stage of fibrosis. However, it is an invasive procedure and its use is limited. It may also be subject to sampling error. Because of need for less invasive techniques, new diagnostic modalities are emerging to replace biopsy. In the present review, available new techniques are introduced and the advantages and disadvantages of each one are discussed. Although none of these non-invasive techniques is able to differentiate between steatosis and steatohepatitis and to reveal all features visible using histology, the proposed diagnostic modalities offer a wide range of additional information instead of liver biopsy.

Keyword

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; Diagnosis; Liver biopsy; Non-invasive test

MeSH Terms

Biopsy
Fatty Liver
Fibrosis
Liver
Liver Cirrhosis
Selection Bias
Fatty Liver