Novel criteria to differentiate fibrosis from steatohepatitis
Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the most common cause of liver cirrhosis in the Western world. Liver biopsy is currently considered the gold standard for assessing hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis in these patients. However, it is an invasive procedure, with rare but potentially life-threatening complications and its accuracy is limited due to sampling error. Transient elastography (FibroScan(R), FS) is a novel rapid and noninvasive method to assess liver fibrosis via measurement of liver stiffness (LS). Although LS closely correlates with fibrosis stage, it also increases in patients with inflammation (steatohepatitis) which often confounds fibrosis in patients with ALD. Thus, novel criteria are urgently required to determine whether LS is increased due to fibrosis or inflammation...