BACKGROUND Despite improvements in serological and radiological techniques, liver biopsy remains the most reliable way to diagnose diffuse hepatic disease and hepatic nodules. The indications for this invasive technique must be weighed against the small, but not negligible, risk of a complication. METHODS The indications for liver biopsy are summarized on the basis of a selective review of th...

ence of outspoken clinical signs, such as jaundice or ascites, are commonly present in the wards and despite the innumerable tests done for the patient the physician often finds himself without a diagnosis. Any safe and reasonably sure diagnostic method would therefore be welcome. Aspiration of the liver to obtain material for histologic study, though not a new procedure, came to prominence as ...

The safety of percutaneous liver biopsy with a 1.2 mm Menghini needle in infants aged one year or less was investigated. One hundred and eighty four procedures performed from 1975 to 1985 were reviewed. There were no deaths or major complications within 48 hours associated with the procedure. In five instances specific complications occurred: a drop in haemoglobin concentration (three), transie...

These recommendations provide a data-supported approach. They are based on the following: (1) formal review and analysis of the recently published world literature on the topic; (2) American College of Physicians Manual for Assessing Health Practices and Designing Practice Guidelines1; (3) guideline policies, including the AASLD Policy on the Development and Use of Practice Guidelines and the A...

We read the interesting study by Szymczak et al. (1) regarding the safety and effectiveness of a blind per-cutaneous liver biopsy, where they concluded that the failure rate and the risk of complications are low if indications and contraindications are carefully considered. Moreover, these authors emphasize how important it is that biopsies are performed by skilled and experienced operators. Th...

Percutaneous liver biopsy (PLB) is an in or out-patient procedure diffused in most hospitals. A particularely elevate number of biopsies in our area depends on endemic infection by hepatitis B and C viruses. Nowadays it is a very safe procedure, and the actual risk of bleeding is estimated to range between 0.04 and 0.16% in nonmalignant disease 1. Major bleeding generally requires a prompt surg...

Liver biopsy (LB) is the most common procedure performed in clinical hepatology. His‐ tological assessment of the liver, and thus, LB is traditionally the “reference standard” in the diagnosis and management of parenchymal liver diseases. Definitive diagnosis of‐ ten depends on LB, and much of understanding of the characteristic features and natu‐ ral history of liver diseases is based on infor...

BACKGROUND Controversy exists over whether or not single-needle liver biopsies are sufficient to compare histological parameters in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. AIMS To identify sampling variability, we biopsied four liver specimens per patient, based on biopsy size (needle vs wedge) and location (left vs right lobe), immediately prior to bariatric Roux-en-Y gastric bypass...

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to carry out a comparitive analysis of hepatic fibrosis results of the liver hardness of patients with chronic liver disease as measured by elastography (TE), shear wave elastography (SWE), and liver biopsy. [Subjects and Methods] This study was a retrospective analysis of 304 patients who underwent SWE and TE before and after liver biopsy, taken from amo...