Two-dimensional shear wave elastography: promises for the future

The prognostication and therapeutic decision making in patients of chronic liver disease is greatly influenced by the degree of liver fibrosis and presence of cirrhosis. Liver biopsy has traditionally been considered the “gold standard” for this purpose. However, it is invasive with rare but potentially serious complications and is prone to sampling errors (1,2). The increasing availability of non-invasive tests with good diagnostic accuracy and high reproducibility has led to their inclusion in several guidelines for the assessment of fibrosis and diagnosis of cirrhosis (3-5).