The Korean Journal of Internal Medicine

Special Review: Korean J Med. 2014;86(4):405-415. Published online April 1, 2014.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3904/kjm.2014.86.4.405; 비알코올 지방간 질환의 진단; 김문영; 연세대학교 원주의과대학 내과학교실; The Diagnosis of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease; Moon Young Kim; Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, Wonju, Korea; Corresponding author: Moon Young Kim ,Tel: +82-33-741-1229, Fax: +82-33-745-1228, Email: drkimmy@yonsei.ac.kr

Abstract: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is composed of nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and NASH related cirrhosis and these are defined by histological findings. These diseases have absolutely typical and different clinical findings and natural courses respectively. NAFL generally has benign process however; NASH and NASH related cirrhosis have an increased risk for liver-related morbidity and mortality. So, the accurate diagnosis and differentiation of steatohepatitis or advanced fibrosis are essential in the management of patient and the prediction of prognosis. The gold-standard of diagnosis of NAFLD is liver biopsy however; it has some limitations in clinical practice. So many studies have been done to find out noninvasive diagnostic methods. These methods can be divided into 2 groups: those that predict the presence of NASH and that predict the presence of advanced fibrosis. This paper provides an overview of various noninvasive methods for detecting NAFLD and their clinical meanings in clinical practice. (Korean J Med 2014;86:405-415)

Keywords :Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, hepatic fibrosis, Liver biopsy, Noninvasive diagnosis