“Liver problem?”
Il visited the hospital gastroenterologist for pain from the right ribs towards the shoulder blade with ultrasound only with fatty liver. They conducted immediately a Fabroscan and gave the report 11.4 kPa that your liver is damaged advised LFT CBC UREA CRP CREATININE and upper abdomen CT Scan I did all and have all reports CT scan is clear no liver issue diagnosed. My LFT is quite clear also all blood reports are clear. Now what to do is go with Fabroscan report or go with CT scan and LFT. I have no symptoms of any liver disorder. Please advise what to do.
Male | 50 years old
Complaint duration: 6 days
Medications: None
Conditions: healthy
4 Answers
The liver can be damaged (i.e., scarred or fibrotic) even with normal blood tests. Even early cirrhosis can be present and it may not show up on an US or CT scan. If the fibroscan is accurate, then your doctors need to find out why there is damage to the liver. It could be many different things, such as alcohol use, fatty liver progressing to NASH, viral hepatitis, etc. See your GI doctor to get an explanation. Another option is to see a hepatologist. When there is uncertainty about what is going on in the liver or why, then a liver biopsy is the gold standard to get an answer.
There is a discordance between the ultrasound and CT imaging with the ultrasound suggesting fatty liver and the CT does not. The CT is in general more sensitive (i.e., picks up fat at lower level) and specific (i.e., make correct diagnosis) the Fibroscan suggests fibrosis, but a recent meal or right heart failure could cause the same finding as can being overweight. If you are feeling okay and have no pain, I would suggest having an evaluation in 6 months. Have your doctor check the Fib 4 and fatty liver index. Both calculations are easy to Google and calculate.
Ignore the fibroscan report in that case and make sure that you do not see that doctor ever again! You may visit a different liver specialist for any further issues. I wonder where this happened!
Don't worry too much. As the CT scan is looking good, just follow up with your primary care provider and get her opinion.
Take care.
Take care.
