FibroScan the new "Platinum Standard"

Please , let`s fight for FibroScan machines in all our neighbourhoods across the country.
It is sooooooo  helpful in dealing with HCV.Everyone should know and be able to see for themselves
how this 100% risk free tool can improve your decision making . It is the next best thing
after early diagnosis.
I had to travel to a foreign country to get it done and I will go back to repeat as long as I can
and have to.
No more biopsies !!!
They are simply not neccessary anymore.
I went to a major german Liver Center that treats 5000 Hep C patients.
The leading professor there advised me to not accept any biopsy
because it is an unneccassary and risky procedure when you can have Fibroscan instead.

[Rockerforlife]

Ive read also they are used in other countries at drug outreach sites to help IV users to save lives.....why dont the western govts get with the program

[Rockerforlife]

500 million dollars a year ( 1/2 trillion) are generated a year just in income tacx a year in the USA....show me the damn money...dont hoard  and waste it in wars...help the poor and downtrodden

[Marcia2202]

The only problem is that the fibroscan is not accurate in the mid-stages. I couldn't have a biopsy. Had fasted and was lying in the hospital bed to have it done and the big shot doc who was going to do it came in and told me to go home and enjoy my breakfast. My blood coagulation was too slow. Long story short, I ended up having a fibroscan after tx.

[Marcia2202]

Btw, I don't understand how you can call it the platinum standard, when it is not as accurate as a biopsy.

The results of the worldwide study done on the Fibroscan are not even out yet. They were sent in to the center in the US in July.

[Rockerforlife]

I think the FIBRO should be the first procedure anyway,this will determine if you are either early or late stage damage right away.If you are late damage this will pick it it and save you the harpoon in the side,if the FIBRO picks up no damage and you know for a fact you have hep C,THEN do the harpoon stick,,,see my point?....this way you can save the hassle because FIBRO IS FAST AND CHEAP

[Rockerforlife]

Fibro is very accurate in analysis of late stage damage

[Rockerforlife]

Get the fibro first,if it pcks up damage,no need to do the liver stab

[Marcia2202]

I could live with that.

[Bali05]

for the same reason that a biopsy
is being called a gold standard even
though you can get 2 very different
results with biopies taken at 2 different
areas of your liver with different stages
since fibrosis does not happen uniformly.Once you liver gets fibrosis
it does so in different stages in different places.
With Fibroscan
you can do many  readings giving you a broader range and better overall picture.Once you get it done
you will understand.It is only a matter
of time they simply can not hold this
back much longer.I asked them over
in Germany and they said it is very accurate and when I asked them how
come it was not available yet in the US
they said maybe because it isn't US
but a  Eurpean product.

[copyman]

I don't think the Fibroscan should be the "platinum" standard. I think the "gold standard" is a liver biopsy with samples taken from 3 different parts of the liver. This will give someone the most accurate result about liver damage. Any other test is just a guess.

PS, Why do you think the FDA has not approved this after 5+ years of trials? Could it be because trials have shown it not accurate except to show if you have cirrhosis. Even the blood test FibroSURE can tell you if you have cirrhosis but is the same as the scan, not being accurate on the middle stages.

[Bali05]

no need to stab at all.
if you do fibroscan and it does not show
any damage I would be very happy.
it is the midranges that are tricky because they do not happen uniformly.
that is why your best bet are multiple
readings for that scenario which you
can do with fibroscan conveniently and
risk free.

[copyman]

actually the best thing someone can do is what I did. I had all 3 tests ( fibroSCAN, fibroSURE & Biopsy) done and combined the results to determine what kind of liver damage I had.

There are several places in the USA that have the Fibroscan machine. I traveled from NJ to Boston to get mine done.

[Rockerforlife]

Why do you think the FDA has not approved this after 5+ years of trials?

LMFAO,,,,,do you actually trust this bunch?

[Rockerforlife]

The FDA approved childrens OTC cold meds that kills 1000`s...and now they banned them

[Bali05]

midranges are tricky for biopsy as well.
Just a few days ago someone on this
forum was talking about getting a biopsy result of F1 only to find out shortly after they were actually close to cirrhosis.Each time you stab into the liver your chances of complications like
hitting an artery ect... increase.
oh yes how come fibrosure is ok but
fibroscan is not ?

[Bali05]

there is absolutley no harm in having
the Fibroscan machine being easily
available to everyone .Now if we would have this discussion because health insurance does not want to cover it you
would say what else is new?but to deprive us of this great additional tool
while fighting this very serious illness is
simply wrong

[Rockerforlife]

I did not know this...........

Bleeding usually becomes apparent within three to four hours. It often stops on its own, but if it persists, a blood transfusion may be needed


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liver_biopsy

[Rockerforlife]

The cost of liver biopsy is estimated at 1, 032 US dollars without complications and at 2,745 US dollars with complications

[Rockerforlife]

new five-minute scan can warn drinkers if they are in danger of developing serious liver disease. The breakthrough comes as rising numbers of people fall ill to liver disease, with widespread ignorance of the risks.
Until now, damage could be accurately tested only by sticking a biopsy needle into the liver through the stomach wall.

But this damages the liver - and, occasionally, can result in death - so it's not used for routine health screening.

But a new machine, which works using similar technology to ultrasound, is able to assess the degree of liver damage a drinker may be doing to themselves.



http://medgadget.com/archives/2007/01/fibroscan.html

[Rockerforlife]

The Food and Drug Administration has given EchoSens an Investigational Device Exemption, which allows the company to start U.S. clinical trials to support a premarket notification submission.

U.S. clinical trials of FibroScan are needed because U.S. and European populations may differ in characteristics such as body mass index and steatosis, said Dr. Afdhal, the primary investigator in clinical trials for evaluation and registration of FibroScan in the United States. He reported no financial conflicts of interest with EchoSens.



http://www.entrepreneur.com/tradejournals/article/131780403.html