General and Abdominal Scientific and Case Reports Session 1
Early Clinical Experience with a Community Clinic to Screen for Hepatic Steatosis
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
11:34am – 11:41am
Location: 410
Authors: Hersh Sagreiya, University of Pennsylvania Frederick Nunes, Penn Medicine Linda Nunes, Penn Medicine
Hepatic steatosis affects more than 30% of the US population and is projected to become the leading cause of liver transplantation. Early diagnosis is important, as it can prevent downstream complications such as inflammation, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. We developed a new clinic to screen for both hepatic steatosis and hepatic fibrosis in the community using Siemens ACUSON Sequoia ultrasound scanners. Five measurements of ultrasound-derived fat fraction (UDFF) and up to fifteen measurements from auto point shear wave elastography were obtained from each patient. Ultimately, 62% of patients had clinically significant steatosis, defined as a fat fraction greater than 5%, indicating the high clinical burden of this disease in the community. However, no patients had a liver stiffness greater than 9 kPa, the criterion typically used for compensated advanced chronic liver disease. Overall, given the large clinical burden of hepatic steatosis, informing patients about its presence could prompt them to make diet and lifestyle changes to mitigate this disease and prevent further progression, while identifying patients with more severe disease for direct clinical follow-up.