January 6, 2023 : Correlation Between Liver Ultrasound and Liver Function Test Results
© 安岡喜晴 (JoyShine)
Recently I've become skeptical about whether the dull liver edge seen on ultrasound is really indicative of liver dysfunction,
because I had seen many cases so far where such findings were observed, but the blood tests such as AST and ALT were normal.
To investigate this, I searched online and found a paper "Correlation between Liver Ultrasonography with AST and ALT Value in Suspected Hepatitis".
According to this research, there was a significant correlation between the echo structure, the size of the liver and the degree of dilatation of the portal vein,
but there was no significant correlation with the condition of the liver surface.
Depending on clinical situations, it is necessary to make a careful judgement especially if there is a viral hepatitis, fatty liver, diabetes or obesity,
but at least, according to the suggestions in this paper, it seems difficult to find a correlation between mere images of dull liver edge on ultrasound and liver function test results.
