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World J Gastroenterol. Sep 14, 2018; 24(34): 3849-3860
Published online Sep 14, 2018. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v24.i34.3849
Role of two-dimensional shear wave elastography in chronic liver diseases: A narrative review
Jae Yoon Jeong, Young Seo Cho, Joo Hyun Sohn
Jae Yoon Jeong, Joo Hyun Sohn, Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri 11923, South Korea
Young Seo Cho, Department of Radiology, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Guri 11923, South Korea
Author contributions: All the authors participated in the interpretation of the study results, and in the drafting, critical revision, and approval of the final version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declared they have nothing to disclose concerning this study.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Joo Hyun Sohn, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University Guri Hospital, 153 Gyeongchun-ro, Guri 11923, South Korea. sonjh@hanyang.ac.kr
Telephone: +82-31-5602225 Fax: +82-31-5552998
Received: June 27, 2018
Peer-review started: July 2, 2018
First decision: July 12, 2018
Revised: July 18, 2018
Accepted: July 21, 2018
Article in press: July 21, 2018
Published online: September 14, 2018
Abstract

Liver biopsy is the gold standard for evaluating the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. However, due to the many limitations of liver biopsy, there has been much interest in the use of noninvasive techniques for this purpose. Among these techniques real-time two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) has the advantage of measuring tissue elasticity with the guidance of B-mode images. Recently, many studies have been conducted on the application of 2D-SWE in patients with various liver diseases, and their validity has been confirmed. Here, we briefly discuss the role of 2D-SWE in patients with chronic liver diseases, particularly aspects of the examination techniques and clinical applications.

Keywords: Shear wave elastography, Liver disease, Liver fibrosis, Portal hypertension, Hepatocelluar carcinoma

Core tip: Assessing the degree of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease is clinically important. Real-time two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE) has the advantage of measuring tissue elasticity with the guidance of B-mode images. Recently, many studies have shown that 2D-SWE is a useful tool for evaluating not only liver fibrosis in various liver diseases but also portal hypertension, and for predicting the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. Here, we discuss briefly the role of 2D-SWE in patients with chronic liver diseases, particularly aspects of the examination technique and clinical applications.