Rare Medical Problems

Indications for liver biopsy Percutaneous liver biopsy has a small but inherent risk even in the most experienced hands, and it should therefore only be performed when the benefits of knowing the histology outweigh the risks to the patient (in terms of altering treatment or defining disease outcome). These benefits should be continually re-evaluated as new treatment options become available such as has occurred with the new antiviral therapies in viral hepatitis and in liver transplantation. Acute hepatitis of unknown etiology, including possible drug related hepatitis, has long been an indication for per cutaneous liver biopsy, but liver biopsy in typical acute viral hepatitis is usually not necessary. The usefulness of liver biopsy in chronic viral hepatitis was once hotly debated; however, with the advent of new antiviral therapies there is no doubt of the value of histology in assessing those patients who will benefit from treatment and assessing their response to it. Patients with...