Key result
Noninvasive ultrasound techniques like elastography offer pivotal diagnostic and prognostic value for MASLD.
Why the study?
In 2023, NAFLD was renamed MASLD, requiring hepatic steatosis plus at least one cardiometabolic risk factor, highlighting the need to outline ultrasound and elastography roles.
Advanced ultrasound and elastography techniques play a crucial role in the diagnosis and management of the newly defined metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.
May support elastography for MASLD monitoring; leaves open prospective validation before practice change.
In 2023, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease was renamed metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease by the American and European liver associations. This new nomenclature recognizes metabolic dysfunction as the central driver of the disease, and the diagnostic criteria now require the presence of hepatic steatosis plus at least one of five cardiometabolic risk factors. B-mode ultrasonography remains the most common and practical method for detecting hepatic steatosis, although newer ultrasound techniques based on attenuation, backscatter, and speed of sound have gained traction as tools to diagnose and quantify hepatic steatosis. Additionally, ultrasound elastography is increasingly used in routine clinical practice to assess liver fibrosis, diagnose cirrhosis, and identify clinically significant portal hypertension.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Jin et al. (2025) conducted a review in Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). Ultrasound and elastography was evaluated. Noninvasive ultrasound-based techniques, including newer elastography and attenuation methods, play a pivotal role in the diagnosis, monitoring, and prognostication of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: