I have been diagnosed with early cirrhosis last summer (July 2023) and have a Child Pugh A and a meld of 9.
I have done two Elastology ultrasounds - first in July was 11.8 kpa and the second Nov 1st was 9.0 kpa.
My liver enzymes are all in line and came back in line within about 6 weeks...platelets are a little low at 133
I am in Canada and still on a waitlist to see a Hepatologist and that is where I will be given the Fibroscan. I decided to try to find a clinic to get a Fibroscan on my own and went to one that specializes in Health and Wellness but they are not doctors. They have an xray tech and a dietician in the clinic. I am not sure if I made a mistake in choosing this type of place but I drove 14 hours and paid for it myself. The young girl who did it initially was not a tech and was alarmed at my reading so went and got the xray tech to come and do it. The reading was a whopping 32.1 kpa...I am very thin (108 lbs and 5ft 2 in female) and have a small amount of ascites according to my Nov ultrasound but perhaps I have accumlated more since then? I am certain this cannot be correct...I have liver problems unfortunately due to alcohol and have completely stopped for 8 months and will NEVER touch it again. I took the report to my doctor and she said she does not believe it because I was 9 kpa in Nov and my bloodwork is great and I have zero symptoms...the only thing I have had is ascites and it was drained once and has (knock wood) stayed away other than a small amount appearing on the ultrasounds.
I also think this has to be an error as I do know the doctors add 2-3 kpa to the ultrasound elastology versus the Fibroscan but the IQR median did show 9%. My doctor completely dismissed it saying it is comparing apples to oranges and she does not think it is valid and told me I wasted my money.
I realize this was not done in a medical clinic but is it not pretty easy to perform? Has anyone else experienced an incorrect reading like this? Maybe my liver is a little inflamed and with my size it affected it?
Thank you so much for any input or thoughts! I am sure hoping that my doctor is right and I am freaking out over nothing.
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Confused2024
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I think if you had your diagnosis (early cirrhosis) I would trust it. Any Fibroscan results (better or worse) do not change this (especially when not ordered by your hepatologist). Your doctor was right.
From my understanding, when you have ascites, it's from 2 reasons. Either alcoholic hepatitis or cirrhosis. That is what my hepatologost told me. Ask your doctor.
That’s what my doctor told me too, with alcoholic hepatitis it’s hoped once the cause of the ascites has been removed (alcohol) and with diuretics and a better diet it will go away unless the damage to the liver is too far gone and that’s what happened with me. I was also told some people even without cirrhosis or liver disease can have trace ascites. It seems ascites itself is something the experts don’t fully understand. I know my own doctor said years ago when people come in with alcohol related liver issues their swollen belly was thought of as just a beer belly and sent home, you can imagine the outcome wouldn’t have been favourable. Now anyone coming into hospital here in the UK with alcohol hepatitis or if deemed that are given a cirrhosis care bundle treatment which thankfully gives everyone a much higher chance of surviving longer when released from hospital. I know had they sent me home this time last year even after a few days I’d not be here now.
It’s what hospitals here in the U.K. provide patients with coming in with liver damage from alcohol and I assume from other forms of liver damage. It’s like a check list of what to do and what not to do and then provide the appropriate care needed based on how poorly the patient is and their symptoms.
For example I was checked for HE as I had ascites, I was put on diuretics, I was given albumin infusions and high protein shakes as I was severely malnourished/muscle wasting and they also took some ultra sounds and a fibro scan which failed or rather couldn’t provide a reading due to the acsites and how enlarged my liver was from the alcohol hepatitis. They took total bloods, checked my kidneys and all kinds.
In the ‘olden’ days they would have treated the alcoholic patient like me with some form of detox, taken bloods and such but it’s unlikely they would have thought about albumin, protein, HE, ascites even.
That's why a lot of current liver disease data is skewered and in many ways no longer accurate because people leaving hospital even with what appears to be say decompensated cirrhosis, end up living much longer when leaving hospital thanks to the treatment they now receive while in hospital and post care, of course the patient if alcohol related needs to remain sober to heal and become better, but nothing is ever much tracked in terms of that kind of data.
Sadly most who leave hospital even today following treatment end up drinking again and end up in a morgue pretty soon after, so again the data is skewered that’s why you hear stories of how you have 2 years to live etc. which is totally wrong.
My own hospital have patients diagnosed with cirrhosis 20 years ago and some even attend workshops to talk to other newly diagnosed patients. It’s the same with people who have had transplants over 20 years ago, there is so many people that live with cirrhosis a long long time. I hope you get to the bottom of your issues and stay fit, well and healthy, good luck.
That's not what IQR means. It's a measure of how 'spread out' the results are. 9% is actually very good, it means the readings were very consistent. The scan could have given false high readings for a bunch of reasons, including operator error, but the IQR is good.
UPDATE - sorry I just realized I never posted any update...I was into see a specialist April and the fibroscan was far lower but still not great at 18.4 with a 28% IQR...then my second in October at 17 kpa with a similar IQR...both high but valid...so now I have an MRE next month...just living as healthy as I can and trying to heal
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