Krag, Aleksander;
Roskams, Tania;
Pinzani, Massimo;
Mueller, Sebastian;
(2022)
Diagnostic challenges in patients with alcohol-related liver disease.
Zeitschrift fuer Gastroenterologie
, 60
(1)
pp. 45-57.
10.1055/a-1713-4372.
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Abstract
Alcohol is globally the leading risk factor for cirrhosis and is subsumed under the term alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). However, only ca. 10% of people with harmful alcohol consumption (>40 gram alcohol per day) develop cirrhosis, while 15% have normal liver histology. Unfortunately, laboratory parameters and ultrasound hold little value to neither rule-in nor rule out alcohol related liver fibrosis. While several indices with combinations of liver associated markers such as FIB4 seem to be promising, non-invasive test strategies are urgently needed with cut-off's that can be applied to guide clinical decision making. The aims of this review article are to highlight novel developments for the diagnosis of ALD and to identify topics of controversy and potential future directions. In the last 15 years, elastography to measure liver stiffness (LS) has significantly improved our screening strategies for cirrhosis. LS values below 6 kPa are considered as normal and exclude ALD. LS of 8 and 12.5 kPa represent generally accepted cut-off values for F3 and F4 fibrosis. Especially, transient elastography (TE) has been assessed in numerous studies, but similar performance can be obtained with point shear wave elastography, 2 SD shear wave elastography or MR elastography. Important confounders of elevated LS such as inflammation should also be considered and alcohol withdrawal not only improves liver inflammation but also LS. Liver stiffness measurement has signficiantly improved early diagnosis and follow-up of fibrosis in patients with ALD and patients with diagnosed manifest but clinically compensated cirrhosis should undergo further clinical examinations to rule out complications of portal hypertension. In addition, surveillance for the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma is recommended in all cirrhotic patients.
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Diagnostic challenges in patients with alcohol-related liver disease |
| Location: | Germany |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.1055/a-1713-4372 |
| Publisher version: | https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1713-4372 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | Alcoholism, Elasticity Imaging Techniques, Humans, Hypertension, Portal, Liver, Liver Cirrhosis, Substance Withdrawal Syndrome |
| UCL classification: | UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine > Inst for Liver and Digestive Hlth UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Div of Medicine |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10150036 |
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