Ultrasound may show cirrhosis if severe, but CT and MRI are better tests.
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ultrasound is about 85% accurate at ruling out Cirrhosis, which means its a pretty good test, no test is perfect though. Alot also depends on the cause, auto immune and viral causes are slightly more difficult to pick up on it. Alcohol is one the easiest forms of Liver damage to find though.
I agree with Flamingogirl. A dear friend had an ultrasound that did not detect cirrhosis. It was diagnosed after liver biopsy.
It turns out, her cirrhosis is so progressed that she needs a liver transplant.
So even with a "negative" ultrasound, a patient's liver still might have cirrhosis.
I just saw this and wanted to thank you for the explanation. It really helped me quite a bit. I was away for a while so just catching up.
Thanks again
Dee
Thank you all for your replies. I did get in to see the GI and they agreed that more testing was necessary including an MRI and possible biopsy. PBC was mentioned as a possibility. Of course after the appointment I went straight to google. I guess the question I have is: from what I read PBC is typically seen in middle aged adults does this decrease the likelihood that this is what I have? (I'm 22) and is there a huge difference between PBC and cirrhosis?
Also what should I expect from the biopsy?
I have regular ultrasounds (I am cirrhotic and 8 weeks post treatment with Harvoni/Riba)
I believe the ultrasounds have more to do with gauging whether or not there are tumors or odd masses that would indicate liver cancer
I have looked at the scans (for some reason the ultrasound techs are not supposed to talk to the patients about what they see) It's quite interesting and you can actually see the squiggly lines in your liver instead of the smooth lines that would appear in a normal liver
Here's a pic:
http://knowyourliver.net/abnormal-liver-ultrasound.html
So I get these ultrasounds every 6 months and will for the rest of my life apparently
Based on my own experience ( diagnosed with hepatitis- non viral - in transition to cirrhosis or early cirrhosis - depending on which doc i speak to) an ultrasound did NOT detect anything. My ultrasound was completely normal. It was the ct scan (with contrast) and the transjugular biopsy that led to the diagnosis (as well as blood work). If it were me, i would push for additional testing to get to the bottom of it. Good luck and stay positive and strong. It is most important to find out for sure so that the proper treatment plan can be put in place.
Good luck with your doctor's appointment.
I am hoping that whatever is going on is something that can be addressed easily so you can start feeling better soon.
Be well.
Hector
Thank you for the helpful information I appreciate it
Hi and welcome to the Cirrhosis of the Liver community.
Would an ultrasound show if I had Cirrhosis?
In a word, yes. Ultrasound is one tool a doctor can use to diagnose cirrhosis of the liver. The are many others as well. A medical history, symptom overview and one to two minute physical exam is even easier. If there is a suspicion of cirrhosis then other testing can be performed, such as an ultrasound, to confirm the diagnosis of cirrhosis.
Actually the diagnosis of cirrhosis is a relatively easy thing to do in most cases. When a person has cirrhosis (advanced liver disease to the point where most of the liver cells have become non-functioning scar tissue) there are usually have indications of the disease. Both internal and external symptoms and complications.
By the way, liver enzymes liver are only distantly related to cirrhosis. Higher than normal liver enzymes only indicate that something is currently injuring the liver (they don't indicate how much damage to the liver has already been done). Cirrhosis is the last stage of liver disease which usually only occurs after 20-40 of injury to the liver on a regular basis by some disease or condition.
When a person has cirrhosis the liver has been damaged to the point where the liver and the surrounding blood supply to the liver are physically changed in many obvious ways. These physical changes can easily be seen on an ultrasound or any imaging technology for that matter such as on an ultrasound, CT scan or MRI.
Therefore a normal ultrasound result indicates you don't have cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a serious health condition and can be life-threatening and is not a diagnosis that anyone would want to have happen to them.
This is not to say you may not have something injuring your liver (a condition or disease) which is causing the high liver enzyme levels.
You are doing the right thing by following up and seeing a gastroenterologist and getting to the bottom of what is going on. Should you have some form of liver disease... you want to stop it before it can develop into cirrhosis if at all possible.
Thanks for your question.
Best luck to you.
Hector