Fibroscan

[kingsnorth]

l have had a few scans ie ultrasound and MRI which showed fatty liver however l have just had a fibroscan which showed a normal liver. How can that be? My nurse told me that an MRI will highlight any fat on a liver but a fibroscan actually shows how much fat there is. Very confusing. My scans weren’t looking for fatty liver by the way they just picked it up.

[nash1996]

Fibroscan's are mainly done to look for fibrosis (scarring). You can have a fatty liver without any scarring.

[kingsnorth in reply to nash1996]

thank you my fibroscan result was 5

[nash1996 in reply to kingsnorth]

5 is in the normal range indicating it is unlikely you have any significant scarring. That's good! Obviously you still need to work on reducing the fat in your liver so you don't get any scarring in future.

[kingsnorth]

thank you for the information. Best wishes

[nash2 Partner]

All tests are subject to error but in general neither ultrasound nor MRI are very good at identifying fat. Fibroscan measures liver stiffness quite well for advanced fibrosis, not so great at early stage and it has a CAP score which is a measure of fat content. Of the three, Fibroscan is likely the best in your case but is quite variable in early stage disease. Good questions for your doc.

[KC108 in reply to nash2]

Wayne, other then biopsy, is there a non invasive test that is accurate to detect early disease? I have had 4 fibroscans, my last one was 6.2 the others were 6.5, 6.4 and 6.7. My numbers have been dropping as I maintain my healthy lifestyle and my 35lb weightloss. However with my scores all being F0-F1 it does not mean I don’t have some early disease. It sure would be nice to know for sure if I have some early fibrosis progression or not. I asked my doctor if I was in normal range and she said they don’t use the word normal because it’s hard to rule out early disease. She said they use the word stable. Would an MRE be more accurate to detect early stage?

[nash2 Partner in reply to KC108]

MRE is better as a stiffness measurement, as part of that procedure you can also get a PDFF (proton density fat fraction) which is the best measure of fat content. If you can find it in your area a LiverMultiScan by Perspectum is the best measure of inflammation and therefore active disease. If you want to try a blood test, the LIVERFASt test is my favorite. With continued weight management and lifestyle you are probably in a good spot but you can also calculate your FIB-4 score and if that is low (less than 1.3), none of the other tests would be indicated.

[Nonotnash2022]

I'm confused too. My Fibroscan was very different from one small town hospital to a large town hospital. I'm wondering who to believe but I will continue to eat healthy and walk.

[kingsnorth in reply to Nonotnash2022]

this was my first fibroscan but l was expecting to be told my liver was very fatty but the nurse told me my liver wasn’t too bad and that MRIs and ultrasounds always show any fat on a liver as it glows (yuck) 🤷‍♀️

[Nonotnash2022 in reply to kingsnorth]

I wish you well.

[kingsnorth]

you too xx

[Herman7275]

My word came 1st from simple blood tests, all my liver enzymes were high!! I have a fibroscan every year from my liver dr , I am on low carb diet and exercise which helps my fatty liver disease and fibrosis and my diabetes. For me an mri is not best way with liver. A liver biopsy is also something I had to confirm degree of fibrosis & cirrhosis.

[Golendoodle in reply to Herman7275]

Herman what was your liver score as far as fibrosis and where are you now with reversing it?

Thanks Felicia

[Herman7275 in reply to Golendoodle]

239 mean,median 8.9kPa,SD13,2.5 IQR, IQR/Med 28% moderatefibrosis F-2- F-3 liver fat, ICDdiagnosis code k7581 NASH, they also did 1st time, a fibroscan on my spleen, 98.3 kPa 18.3 IQR not much out there to compare it too.

[Golendoodle in reply to Herman7275]

So you were a F2-F3 how long has it taken to reverse it?

[Herman7275]

I was 1st diagnosed 2019 turned 65 lost. 85 lbs. low carb diet, no alcohol, no sugar,