Abstract

AbstractBackground Liver fibrosis is the main predictor of the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Transient elastography (FibroScan), which measures liver stiffness, is a novel, noninvasive method to assess liver fibrosis. Aim We investigated the usefulness of liver stiffness measurement in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. Study population A total of 97 nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. Methods Transient elastography was performed for liver stiffness measurement in 97 nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. And the relationship between histological parameters and liver stiffness measurement was studied by multivariate analysis. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between liver stiffness measurement and the serum levels of hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen 7s domain. Results The liver stiffness was well correlated with the stage of liver fibrosis (Kruskal–Wallis test pr=0.525, pr=0.457, pConclusions Our results show a significant correlation between liver stiffness measurement and fibrosis stage in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients, as confirmed by the results of liver biopsy, which remains the gold standard for evaluation of the severity of liver fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.