Liver biopsy for histological assessment: The case in favor

Khalid A. Alswat, Khalid Mumtaz, Wasim Jafri

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

9 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Liver biopsy (LB) is the gold standard method for assessment of liver histology. It provides valuable, otherwise unobtainable information, regarding the degree of fibrosis, parenchymal integrity, degree and pattern of inflammation, bile duct status and deposition of materials and minerals in the liver. This information provides immense help in the diagnosis and prognostication of a variety of liver diseases. With careful selection of patients, and performance of the procedure appropriately, the complications become exceptionally rare in current clinical practice. Furthermore, the limitations of sampling error and inter-/intra-observer variability may be avoided by obtaining adequate tissue specimen and having it reviewed by an experienced liver pathologist. Current noninvasive tools are unqualified to replace LB in clinical practice in the face of specific limitations for each tool, compounded by a poorer performance towards the assessment of the degree of liver fibrosis, particularly for intermediate stages.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)133-139
Number of pages7
JournalSaudi Journal of Gastroenterology
Volume16
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2010

Keywords

  • FibroScan
  • FibroTest
  • Histology
  • Liver biopsy
  • Markers
  • Noninvasive assessment

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