Ultrasound Method to Measure Fibrosis of the Liver in Children

Sonoelastography: Ultrasound Method to Measure Fibrosis of the Liver in Children

HYPOTHESIS: The investigators hypothesize that sonoelastography (SE) provide accurate quantitative measurements that can be used to stage liver fibrosis in pediatric patients with chronic liver disease.

Specific Aims:

To measure liver stiffness with sonoelastography in pediatric and adolescents with suspect diffuse liver disease who will undergo nonfocal liver biopsy as part of their routine clinical care.

Inclusion criteria:

• Patients scheduled for random liver biopsy for routine staging of liver fibrosis
• Pediatric patients patients (ages 1-21)
• Girls or boys
• Suspected liver disease
• Consent to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria:

• Pregnancy
• Acute illness/cognitive impairment resulting in inability to cooperate with ultrasound
• Patients that do not consent to ultrasound guided liver biopsy.
• Contraindications to liver biopsy (e.g. low platelets defined as a platelet count of less than 50,000, and hemophilia/coagulopathy as an INR higher than 1.5.)