Liver and spleen stiffness in schistosomiasis

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease prevalent in low-to-middle income countries. Up to 10% of infected individuals might develop the severe form of the disease known as hepatosplenic schistosomiasis (HES) which is characterized by portal hypertension and hepatic periportal fibrosis. Transient elastography (TE) has been used to evaluate liver fibrosis in many chronic liver diseases and a few studies assessed liver and spleen stiffness in schistosomiasis. The relative low values of liver stiffness measurements (LSM) observed in most of HES patients in these studies suggest that LSM may be a useful tool to differentiate cirrhosis from HES. Spleen stiffness (SS) may be considered a potential surrogate marker of portal hypertension in HES patients.