How is NASH diagnosed?

    Last Updated: October 25, 2023

    The gold standard for diagnosing NASH is through a liver biopsy, but this procedure is reserved for people at risk of advanced liver fibrosis. There’s no standard screening for NAFLD, so It’s more common for NASH to be diagnosed incidentally when being assessed for other health conditions. Imaging — specifically, an ultrasound, computed tomography (CT) scans, or certain types of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques — may be also used to look for signs of fat accumulation in the liver.[1][2]

    References

    1. ^Kenneth Cusi, Scott Isaacs, Diana Barb, Rita Basu, Sonia Caprio, W Timothy Garvey, Sangeeta Kashyap, Jeffrey I Mechanick, Marialena Mouzaki, Karl Nadolsky, Mary E Rinella, Miriam B Vos, Zobair YounossiAmerican Association of Clinical Endocrinology Clinical Practice Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Primary Care and Endocrinology Clinical Settings: Co-Sponsored by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD)Endocr Pract.(2022 May)
    2. ^Gosalia D, Ratziu V, Stanicic F, Vukicevic D, Zah V, Gunn N, Halegoua-DeMarzio D, Tran TAccuracy of Noninvasive Diagnostic Tests for the Detection of Significant and Advanced Fibrosis Stages in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Systematic Literature Review of the US Studies.Diagnostics (Basel).(2022-Oct-27)