When to consider a liver biopsy
Although a liver biopsy can confirm an existence of a fatty liver disease, for the majority of patients it is not required for NAFLD prognosis.
However, there are some specific purposes to a liver biopsy:
- A biopsy can exclude other liver disorders
- It can distinguish between simple fatty liver and acute fatty liver
- Can provide information about the stage of hepatic fibrosis in non-alcoholic fatty liver
Liver Biopsy
So when should you consider a liver biopsy?
There is no need to perform a liver biopsy on all non-alcoholic fatty liver patients. As for today, there are no specific rules on when a patient needs to take the biopsy or not.
However, a liver biopsy is sometimes considered if the patient is:
- At the age of 45 years or older
- Is diabetic and overweight (or obese)
- Suffers from hypertension and hypertriglyceridaemia
Most liver experts would recommend trying to lower the ALT enzyme levels before performing a liver biopsy.
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April 18th, 2009 at 7:23 PM
“Most liver experts would recommend trying to lower the ALT enzyme levels before performing a liver biopsy”
Would a biopsy be appropriate if:
-Patient has been diagnosed with Fatty Liver
-enzymes had spiked in the past but are now within normal range
-Has had growing consistent aching on right side at the bottom of the rib cage for several weeks (appendix issues have been ruled out)
April 19th, 2009 at 1:44 AM
Adam, its very conditional. In a case where a patient has been already diagnosed with fatty liver, and liver enzyme levels have been lowered, a liver biopsy isn’t recommended.
Is this particular case, a liver biopsy might be considered to rule out other conditions the patient has.