31.6 kpa fibroscan result

[Mywildlove]

Hello, as it says in the title, my fiancé had his first fibroscan today and the result was 31.6. He hasn’t had a drink since diagnoses December 27, so almost 6 months! I know it’s a high score and we are hoping it drops as time goes on. Has anyone here had a similar result with cirrhosis from drinking as well? And if so, have your numbers dropped with time?

[mncold]

Hi Mywildlove,

I'm sure someone with experience with fibroscan & scores will be on to give you information.

My husband has not had a fibroscan and it doesn't seem to be used as much here in the US, or at least not by his doctors.

My husband's blood work is still improving a tiny bit at each 6 month follow up visit and since he stopped drinking - so I would be hopeful that your man's will also. It can be a slow improvement though.

Best wishes to you both,

Mary

[Mywildlove in reply to mncold]

Hi Mary, thank you! I’m happy to hear that your husband’s results are improving. My fiancé’s GI doctor didn’t want him to have the fibroscan but I pushed for it so we have more to go by as time goes on. I hope your husband continues to improve 😊

[AyrshireK in reply to Mywildlove]

My hubby has cirrhosis and his consultant won't send him for a Fibroscan as there would be no point as she says "we already know you have cirrhosis so Fibroscan will add nothing to the diagnosis". All this result confirms is the cirrhosis which you already know is there. If his bloods are currently showing elevations due to inflammation then the score can be additionally elevated due to that but at the end of the day cirrhosis is cirrhosis and that's all you've found out via this scan.

It's all about monitoring now and treating any side effects linked to the cirrhosis. You'll not see a Fibroscan score dropping into anything like normal numbers once you've got confirmed cirrhosis.

Katie

[davianne in reply to AyrshireK]

Hi Katie, my consultant said the same to me when I asked for another fibroscan, but as some on here have said, it can improve with the right management. I would just like confirmation that I'm making progress, not just for the sake of it.

David

[Bacardinomore in reply to davianne]

Hi I had a fibrescan after a year and a half of ardl and my score had gone by half so keep going everyone

[Male47 in reply to Bacardinomore]

Great positive news

[Gerbera01 in reply to AyrshireK]

Yep, I got the same answer from my Gastro, I asked if I was going to get a fibrosis scan, he said exactly the same to me, you don't need one, we know you have cirrossis and the extent of it. My bloods are aways up, sometimes a lot higher the next time a lot lower, you never know, it can get to you when you compare the numbers with a healthy, liver. Keep calm, carry on.

[Mywildlove]

I don’t expect his numbers to drop into the normal range. I do however hope that they improve with time. He’s been sober 174 days as of today. I’ve read a lot of stories here and on a FB group about people who had a fibroscan done and with time, no booze, and healthy eating their numbers got better and better. The appointment also got his foot in the door in regards to seeing a hepatologist.

[Kurtrules in reply to Mywildlove]

My first fibroscan result as 75kpa - the maximum! I was told that the result was skewed owing to the inflammation of the liver. After 3 months, the next result was 34 kpa.

So, with time, it is possible that the kpa will go down, however, with cirrhosis, unlikely to come back to the normal range (Even though I pray that happens as I am on the same boat)

[Mywildlove in reply to Kurtrules]

That is an amazing difference in numbers! Well done!! I hope yours keeps getting better and better 😊

[Male47 in reply to Kurtrules]

Wow that's great

[Hidden]

Ok I have to say I disagree with doctors saying that there isnt a point of using a fibroscan if someone already has cirrhosis. Ill explain why:

1) Studies have proven that there are people who can go from cirrhotic to precirrhotic stages of liver disease if the insult is removed. The cure for hepatitis-c really put this on the radar and allowed for monitoring of cirrhotic regression. As far as alcoholic cirrhosis being able to do the same well here is the answer I have received from 2 hepatologists: " Theres no reason given what we have seen with hepc cured patients that it cant with abstinence"

"There is so much missing data to study for people with alcoholic cirrhosis as most (not all) of alcoholic cirrhotics eventually return to some level of alcohol use at some point in their lives making regression and monitoring almost impossible to evaluate". Also said is that "most people with alcoholic cirrhosis dont come for follow ups and monitoring making the study of patients minimal at best". Keep in mind any regression seen in patients of any etiology seemed to bear some similar attributes. The age of the person. Younger people seem to see more possibility for regression. Also how long you have had cirrhosis and thirdly all patients who regressed below a precirrhotic stage were in the compensated stage. So far no study exists detailing a decompensated state becoming precirrhotic again.

2) Fibroscans are not just useful for staging fibrosis. They are incredibly useful for gauging the amount of pressure in the liver and estimating the approximate portal pressure gradient.

3) Because we know fibroscans can be incredibly influenced by inflammation it serves as monitoring to how the liver is affected by that inflamattion. IE LFT levels can return to normal range before the ramifications or inflammation actually plateau or resolve.

A regression in KPA score can strongly indicate both points 2 and 3.

4) Doctors will say KPA scores won't change if you have cirrhosis. Well that is clearly not true because either members on this forum including myself are lying or we actually have had our KPA scores drop. Substantially in many cases.

I truly believe alot of doctors have this expensive toy at their disposal but fact is they dont often know how to interpret it correctly and dont realize its full capabilities. Its like having a $7000 mac computer and only knowing how to type word documents.. as ove preached on before though, finroscans should be used as a tool in conjunction with other scans and blood work toward the larger clinical picture. Members here have been diagnosed on fibroscans alone and latter found to not have cirrhosis. It should never be used to diagnose a person. Only as a tool in the toolkit.

[Mywildlove in reply to Hidden]

There’s that hope I was looking for! My fiancé’s LFT was high on last months bloodwork. If it’s high still this month then I’m holding out hope that the high kpa can lower over time as the inflammation (hopefully) subsides. If I’m getting anything wrong by the way then please correct me. I’m here to learn.

Also, having the fibroscan score gives him something to work against. He didn’t want to do the fibroscan, I think mostly out of fear of the results, but after it was done he was glad and said now he has a goal to work hard to get the number down. Part of me wishes he could have gotten a fibroscan when he was diagnosed so we could see the changes that have taken place already. Now to get him off the sugary treats

Thank you Phoenix, as always!

[Hidden in reply to Mywildlove]

The LFT being high would definately affect his result. Get another one done once the enzymes stabilize and find themselves into a more normal range. Its frustrating Dionna but patience is the key. Keep him healthy and keep him on the right track as you have been doing. Just make sure he keeps in mind that there are certain limits not to push right now as we have discussed on previous posts. IE the pushing to many hours at work and not eating all day etc. Things like that. It will wear him down. From my experience doing things like that and pushing to hard can make us feel like shit and fell that things are getting worse even when they arent. Also consoder this: his fobroscan score was likely worse a few months back. If he had of had one then then the score now could very well be seen be seen as positive news as it would show improvement right? Its more alarming because there is no previous one to gauge it against.

[Mywildlove in reply to Hidden]

You’re really good at giving calming advice and I thank you so much for that. I’ve talked with him about how it can take a long time so what we have been doing is the best thing we can do right now. When he first got sick the GI doctor was on the fence about him going to a transplant hospital. The second time he saw him he was happy and surprised as his bloodwork had all come down by half in just a short amount of time. So I’m really curious about what his score would have been then. Of course it probably would have just about killed me had I known haha hopefully in 6 months I will be able to report a lower fibroscan score!

[Radnor in reply to Hidden]

I am one of them! My fibroscan said cirrhosis, BUT my consultant sent me for ARFI scan. This isnt used for alcohol related cirrhosis, but I discovered last week that fibroscans do not work on 20% of people! I had normal bloods apart from raised cholesterol. The consultant who did the ARFI scan explained why he is not a fan of fibroscans. The scan has no way of confirming its the liver , it can be from the spleen,kidneys etc, plus the intestines. I wonder now if what was picked up was my detached intestines. They had been 'floating' across my abdomen then returning back to their position , on the right side where the large and smal intestine joins. . This could have been happening for years, it explained why sometimes I looked 12 months pregnant. After 5 hours emergency surgery, due to the intestines twisting and could have burst at any time. I have fatty liver! There are far better scans available and it appears to me that if someone has cirrhosis it is more measurable from the wide assortment of blood tests. I still have to go back in 6 months, but its to gather data on how fibroscans did not work on me. I didnt even consider going private. I selected the hospital because it had a Liver Unit. I asked my GP to refer me for a second opinion. I got the appointment through for just 6 weeks after. In my case it has been priceless. I totally admire all those who find the strength and determination to stop drinking. Symptoms and blood works seem to be more reliable. Just my humble opinion.

[Hidden in reply to Radnor]

This is a great post Radnor! I am always skeptical to the over estimations of fibroscan results. I always say they need to be used in conjunction with other tests. They just cant reliably diagnose.

[Radnor in reply to Hidden]

I am still pinching myself. I am so grateful to have seen a consultant who is so outstanding and am seeing my GP on Monday, I had no idea when I made the appointment that thanking him is my no 1 priority for agreeing to send me for a 2nd opinion and to the hospital of my choice. . I was going to sort out my meds, The list I had has gone in the bin, I can now increase my statins from 5 mg and sort my cholesterol. I can also see my Psoriasis Prof too, If 1 in 5 people are like me regarding fibroscans, I am now wondering how many people with NASH would benefit from ARFI? The NICE guidelines are pretty stringent to qualify for this, but my result is priceless. Who needs a lottery win. Health comes before money any day.

[Chellie007 in reply to Radnor]

Hi Everyone

After reading this post I just wanted to give a quick experience story with my Fibroscan 6 months ago. I have had three scans done over the last three years for ARLD and Fatty liver from alcohol. My first scan was a 4.9 KPA with a 292 CAP, second 4.2 KPA with 255 CAP and this would be my experience with my third fibroscan: The technician who was doing the scan started very high up on my rib cage. Higher than I recalled it being done before. After about 15 thumps I sat up and looked over at the screen (I’m pretty familiar with how to read the numbers) it read 10.8 KPA. I immediately expressed my confusion and anxiety because for the past two years I’ve been doing everything right.... I’ve been sober as a church mouse and eating a diet consistent with that of the Velveteen Rabbit. I thought Wtf? The technician asked if I had eaten before the scan and I had not. He replied that my numbers were all over the place. He then moved the wand down about an inch and did 20 more pulses. This came out with ten scores with the median being 4.3KPA and a 232 CAP. BUT I have to tell you my confidence in the scan went from a 100 to about a 3 that day. I literally went, according to that scan, from showing borderline cirrhosis to no fibrosis at all in matter of five minutes. That Fibroscan could have been hitting my lungs, heart, kidney or anything else....that was my last experience with my Fibroscan for what it’s worth.

Shellie

[Hidden in reply to Chellie007]

They can be really iffy machines. Truly are most fallible due to user error.

[Roy1955]

My NHS consultant refused a second fibroscan on the basis that I had already been diagnosed and repeating the scan has no value.

My private consultants oppinion was that repeating fibroscan yearly encouraged his patients to aim for improvement and has a definate place in managing cirrhosis and offers this to his NHS patients as well.

I later found out my private consultant (professor) taught my NHS consultant (Dr) when he was a student!

When I pointed this out my NHS consultant agreed to doing fibroscan check ups and my next set of bloods can include an ELF blood test that he previously refused!