Questions? normal scans but liver prob... - British Liver Trust

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Questions? normal scans but liver problems..

Ruggerhead profile image
12 Replies

I see a lot of people on here with the same thing, that they have bloods done, normal, have scans, ie ultrasound, CT, MRI all normal then they get a biopsy or F/scan and it shows liver issues, why cant they not see that on other scans? If your liver is fibrotic, or even fatty would it not always show on other scans too, How can we rely on each as being the real state of our liver health, what ones do we believe?

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Ruggerhead profile image
Ruggerhead
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12 Replies
Tia2021 profile image
Tia2021

I did wonder this myself, hopefully someone will be along to enlighten us. x

Herman7275 profile image
Herman7275

Just like I believe an X-Ray doesn't show what an MRI shows??

idyllic420 profile image
idyllic420

I'm planning to get an MRE done. I'm going to ask my GI to give me a reference here in states!

ThisIsUsRRR profile image
ThisIsUsRRR

Great question. This is what I hope to find out from my partner’s hepatologist. He’s recently been diagnosed with advanced cirrhosis, why wasn’t anything other than a fatty liver picked up over the last 3 years of tests and hospital admissions? He may not have let it get to the stage it is now

mcardle1 profile image
mcardle1 in reply toThisIsUsRRR

I’m the same situation all scans including Fibroscan showing mild fatty liver and no scarring. LFT bloods showing stage 3 fibrosis???I have heard that blood tests can show fibrosis for all other body organs and nit just liver ?

mayk19 profile image
mayk19 in reply toThisIsUsRRR

Gosh, sorry to read that. Where his bloods all fine during that 3 years also? I'm asking as I have pains in right quadrant, which i've been told is back pain. And had 3 years of scans MRI, Xray - endoscopy etc and found nothing. - all bloods normal etc.. so concerning to read your Partner had the same. What indicators did they have at all?

Alibaba80 profile image
Alibaba80

Personally I rely on myself to know what is wrong and when something is not right. Usually the most conclusive test is a liver biopsy. This was the only test that diagnosed my liver disorder.

Ruggerhead profile image
Ruggerhead

The problem with the liver needle biopsy is that they wont usually do that if your bloods and scans are ok, go figure?

ThisIsUsRRR profile image
ThisIsUsRRR in reply toRuggerhead

Exactly. My partner was hospitalised twice and had to be detoxed but was told his liver was showing just fatty and it may be his gallbladder! Now we are at advanced scarring after a Fibroscan finally

Ruggerhead profile image
Ruggerhead in reply toThisIsUsRRR

How much scarring if you dont mind me asking BR, and what first took him to hospital

ThisIsUsRRR profile image
ThisIsUsRRR in reply toRuggerhead

Hope you’re doing ok? So sorry for late reply. My partner now has advanced scarring from alcohol and he very first went to the hospital with constant sickness and gastro issues, he was told it was his gallbladder not alcohol but it now transpires he has severe ARLD which I could have told them!!

MINTVCX profile image
MINTVCX

The answer is simple. Every test is not 100% accurate. I think liver diagnosis is patricular difficulty (lack of symtopms or barely see). In fact "golden standard" is biopsy which of course is not perfect (sample error, human error, not represtive part of liver etc.). But if couple tests say cirrhosis (or advanced fibrosis) the probability to have it is sometime almost certain. No simple answers unfortunately. But we cannot suspect liver issue for every person with no symptoms, normal blood test and no risk factors (family disease history, fatty liver, drugs that can damage liver etc). If we tested them anyway, 99% would be healthy and false alerts would cause a lot of anxiety before confirmation tests. Or at least when someone would like to check liver in that case, then should know about very high possibility of false positive result even with most accurate tests (PPV).

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