Understanding Liver Stiffness: A Key to Diagnosis

Shear wave and transient elastography provide comparable values for liver stiffness, crucial for assessing liver health. The values range from 5 (normal) to 75 (very stiff), with each increment indicating a higher likelihood of liver issues, including advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Specifically, a stiffness measure of 10 indicates a 40% chance of advanced fibrosis, while 15 suggests a high likelihood of cirrhosis, and above 25 raises concerns for portal hypertension and variceal development. These clear thresholds enable informed clinical decisions, allowing avoidance of unnecessary endoscopies when stiffness is below 20 and platelet counts are above 150.