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©2014 Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. Jul 27, 2014; 6(7): 496-503
Published online Jul 27, 2014. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i7.496
Published online Jul 27, 2014. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v6.i7.496
CEUS and Fibroscan in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis
Sila Cocciolillo, Leonardo Marzio, Digestive Physiopathology Unit, Gabriele d’Annunzio University, Pescara Civic Hospital, 65124 Pescara, Italy
Giustino Parruti, Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, Pescara Civic Hospital, 65124 Pescara, Italy
Author contributions: Cocciolillo S contributed to the recruitment of patients, acquisition of data, design the study, analysis and interpretation of the data and writing of the draft manuscript; Parruti G supervised and analyzed data from fibroscan; Marzio L contributed to the conceptual design, provided administrative support and overall supervision of the study, analyzed the data and critically revised the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Sila Cocciolillo, MD, Digestive Physiopathology Unit, Gabriele d’Annunzio University, Pescara Civic Hospital, Via Fonte Romana 8, 65124 Pescara, Italy. s_sila2000@yahoo.it
Telephone: +39-329-2066508 Fax: +39-85-4295547
Received: April 18, 2014
Revised: June 12, 2014
Accepted: June 27, 2014
Published online: July 27, 2014
Revised: June 12, 2014
Accepted: June 27, 2014
Published online: July 27, 2014
Core Tip
Core tip: The use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) assisted by dedicated software (Qontrast®) in combination with Fibroscan examination could provide a non-invasive tool to evaluate the level of fatty-liver disease. In this study, we found that there were reductions in portal and intra-parenchymal blood flow in patients affected by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), whereas liver stiffness was increased only in NASH patients. Qontrast®-assisted CEUS could be used to quantify early changes in intra-parenchymal liver flow before the onset of fibrosis.