Minireviews
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2022. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Apr 27, 2022; 14(4): 696-707
Published online Apr 27, 2022. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v14.i4.696
Noninvasive diagnosis of periportal fibrosis in schistosomiasis mansoni: A comprehensive review
Joelma Carvalho Santos, Caroline Louise Diniz Pereira, Ana Lúcia Coutinho Domingues, Edmundo Pessoa Lopes
Joelma Carvalho Santos, Caroline Louise Diniz Pereira, Ana Lúcia Coutinho Domingues, Edmundo Pessoa Lopes, Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine, Center of Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil
Ana Lúcia Coutinho Domingues, Edmundo Pessoa Lopes, Gastroenterology Division, Department of Internal Medicine of Center of Health Sciences, Hospital das Clínicas - Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil
Author contributions: Santos JC and Pereira CLD wrote the paper; Domingues ALC and Lopes EP contributed to the concept and the revision of the paper.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that there is no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (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: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Edmundo Pessoa Lopes, MD, PhD, Professor, Staff Physician, Postgraduate Program in Tropical Medicine, Center of Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Professor Moraes Rego, 135, Recife 50670-901, Pernambuco, Brazil. epalopes@uol.com.br
Received: June 21, 2021
Peer-review started: June 21, 2021
First decision: September 2, 2021
Revised: September 14, 2021
Accepted: March 14, 2022
Article in press: March 14, 2022
Published online: April 27, 2022
Core Tip

Core Tip: Schistosomiasis mansoni is a neglected and key public health problem and periportal fibrosis (PPF) is its commonest complication. Noninvasive PPF tests mostly include biological or physical assessments. Imaging techniques have been currently applied to assess and detect liver damage due to chronic schistosomiasis. A combination between these biomarkers, a comprehensive history and physical examination, laboratory tests, and imaging methods seems to offer the best approach for evaluating these patients. We herein discuss the different noninvasive methods that are currently available for evaluating PPF in Schistosomiasis mansoni infection, and their application, advantages, and limitations in clinical practice.