Radiologic Evaluation of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Diabetic Patient.

Kim,  Kwang Joon; Kim,  Seung Up; Chung,  Yong Eun; Kim,  Chang Oh

doi:2017.18.2.88

J Korean Diabetes > Volume 18(2); 2017 > Article

Focused Issue

The Journal of Korean Diabetes 2017;18(2):88-101.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4093/jkd.2017.18.2.88 Published online July 31, 2017.

당뇨병 환자에서 비알코올성 간질환의 영상의학적 진단방법

김광준, 김승업, 정용은, 김창오

Radiologic Evaluation of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Diabetic Patient.

Kwang Joon Kim, Seung Up Kim, Yong Eun Chung, Chang Oh Kim

¹Division of Geriatrics, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. cokim@yuhs.ac
²Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Radiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), traditionally considered as a disease of hepatologists, has recently become a major concern in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) as T2DM seems to worsen the course of NAFLD and vice versa. Furthermore, the increasing prevalence of NAFLD in T2DM and the complex mechanisms between these two diseases make physicians caring for patients with T2DM face many uncertainties in the diagnosis of NAFLD. Although the liver biopsy is considered as the gold standard of the diagnosis of NAFLD so far, it has several limitations such as infection, bleeding and cost. Hence, radiologic evaluations have been increasingly accepted as noninvasive alternatives to liver biopsy. Currently, 4 major imaging tools are available for measuring liver fat, including ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging and liver fibroscan. This article will describe these methods used to evaluate hepatic steatosis in patients with T2DM, including the diagnostic accuracy, limitations, and practical applicability.

Key Words: Computed tomography, Fatty liver, Liver fibroscan, Magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Ultrasonography