Elastography and Steatometry of the Liver from the Position of World Experts 2018–2022

Abstract

Purpose: To evaluate the dynamics of the opinions of world experts on the materials of world recommendations on ultrasound elastography and liver steatometry from the standpoint of the domestic level of development of ultrasound diagnostics and on the basis of our own data.

Material and methods: 16 main provisions of the World Guidelines for Liver Elastography in 2018 were reviewed and comments were made, differences from the European Guidelines of 2017 and the first World Guidelines of 2015 were noted. We reviewed and commented on the 2020 SRU comments. The final scientific publication of a large group of world experts in 2022 is analyzed in detail, where for the first time the norms and threshold values between benign and malignant neoplasms of a large number of human organs and tissues are given.

Results: From 2006 to the present, more than 45,000 ultrasound studies have been carried out on our own material (n=15627), some differences in approaches to liver elastometry are given, and approaches to the use of ultrasound steatometry are considered.

Conclusion: Threshold development vectors are shown, techniques to avoid artifacts and reduce the risk of obtaining false negative and false positive elastometry results are proposed. There is caution of the expert community in the review of the method of quantitative steatometry based on the measurement of the attenuation coefficient of the ultrasound wave.