New horizon of ultrasound for screening and surveillance of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease spectrum

Xin Guan; Yun-Chao Chen; Hui-Xiong Xu

doi:10.1016/j.ejrad.2022.110450

New horizon of ultrasound for screening and surveillance of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease spectrum

Eur J Radiol. 2022 Sep:154:110450. doi: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2022.110450. Epub 2022 Jul 21.

Authors

Xin Guan¹, Yun-Chao Chen², Hui-Xiong Xu³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ultrasound, Zhongshan Hospital, Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
² Department of Medical Ultrasound, Xiang'An Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University Medical Center, Xiamen 361101, China; Department of Medical Ultrasound, Center of Minimally Invasive Treatment for Tumor, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Ultrasound Research and Education Institute, Clinical Research Center for Interventional Medicine, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai 200072, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Ultrasound Diagnosis and Treatment, National Clinical Research Center for Interventional Medicine, Shanghai 200072, China.
³ Department of Ultrasound, Zhongshan Hospital, Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China. Electronic address: xuhuixiong2022@126.com.

PMID: 35917757
DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrad.2022.110450

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects almost one quarter of adults worldwide, and its progressive subtype, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis can progress to advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma. It is critical to screen and grade NAFLD patients for management decisions to rationalize the utilization of medical resources. Conventional ultrasound is widely applied for NAFLD screening, however, some inherent weaknesses hinder its utility. This limitation has spurred the development of acoustic parameters-based quantitative ultrasound techniques that allow a more accurate evaluation of the histological features of NAFLD (e.g. steatosis, necroinflammation, fibrosis/cirrhosis). Herein, this paper reviews the research advances in emerging ultrasound techniques for screening and surveillance across NAFLD spectrum and summarize their principles, feasibility, accuracy, reproducibility, and limitations of each technique. The challenges and future directions are also discussed to advance clinical practice.

Keywords: Elastography; Multiparametric ultrasound; NAFLD; NASH; Quantitative ultrasound.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Adult
Fibrosis
Humans
Liver / pathology
Liver Cirrhosis / pathology
Liver Neoplasms* / pathology
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / diagnostic imaging
Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* / epidemiology
Reproducibility of Results