Can color Doppler ultrasound detect liver disease?

As we all know, there are many types of liver diseases. Many people find themselves experiencing symptoms such as indigestion, nausea and vomiting. When they go to the hospital for a check-up, they find that they have liver disease. Some people will also experience other different symptoms. If you want to know whether you have liver disease, you have to go to the hospital for a check-up. So what imaging tests do patients with liver disease need to do? Can routine color Doppler ultrasound detect liver disease?

Imaging Tests for Liver Disease

Ultrasound examination: Diffuse liver disease has its own unique manifestations on B-ultrasound images:

(1) Liver-kidney contrast or liver-kidney echo difference, liver parenchyma echo intensity > kidney echo;

(2) The echo difference between the front and back of the liver, with dense enhancement of near-field echoes and attenuation of far-field echoes;

(3) The intrahepatic duct structure, especially the veins, become thinner and unclear;

(4) Mild or moderate enlargement of the liver. Recently, there is a tendency to quantify these standards and use comprehensive scores to determine the severity of liver disease.

B-ultrasound can detect liver diseases with liver fat content of more than 30% and liver diseases with liver fat content of more than 50%. The sensitivity of ultrasound diagnosis can reach 90%. It has also been reported that in non-fibrotic livers, the sensitivity of ultrasound in diagnosing liver disease is 100%. B-ultrasound is now the preferred diagnostic method for liver disease and is widely used in epidemiological surveys of the incidence of liver disease in the population. Recent foreign reports have shown that the positive predictive value of B-ultrasound in diagnosing liver disease is 67%.

CT: Diffuse liver disease is manifested by the liver density (CT value) being generally lower than that of the spleen, kidneys and intrahepatic blood vessels. After enhancement, the intrahepatic vascular shadows are displayed very clearly, and there is no abnormality in their morphology and direction. The CT value is significantly negatively correlated with the amount of liver fat deposition. Since the spleen CT value is often relatively fixed, the ratio of liver/spleen CT values ​​can be used as a reference standard to measure the severity of liver disease or as a basis for follow-up of therapeutic effects. CT is superior in diagnosing liver disease and its accuracy is better than B-ultrasound, but its disadvantages are high cost and radioactivity.

In addition, magnetic resonance imaging and hepatic arteriography are mainly used for patients who are difficult to diagnose with ultrasound and CT examinations, especially when focal liver disease is difficult to distinguish from liver tumors.

Liver disease examination precautions

1. Fasting: Liver function is a blood test that requires fasting, and the fasting time is generally 8 to 12 hours. This is because the composition of the blood will change after eating, which will cause abnormalities during examination and lead to misdiagnosis.

2. Eat a light diet: The day before the liver function test, you should pay attention to keeping your diet light and avoid eating too greasy food. Too greasy food may cause abnormalities in other indicators such as transaminase, which may also cause errors in the test results.

3. Pay attention to rest: Before the liver function test, you should ensure adequate sleep and avoid strenuous exercise, as this may cause elevated transaminase levels and affect the test results.

4. Do not drink alcohol: Do not drink alcohol the day before a liver function test, otherwise it will affect the transaminase index in liver function, causing the transaminase in the test results to increase, affecting the test results.

5. Avoid taking some medicines: Some medicines cannot be taken before liver function tests. For example, taking vitamin D, benzodiazepines, etc. will affect the determination of the jaundice index; taking opium-containing drugs can lead to increased transaminase activity and affect the accuracy of liver function tests.