Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the presence of steatosis (fat accumulation) in the liver in patients without significant alcohol use, often associated with obesity, metabolic syndrome, type 2 diabetes, and dyslipidemia. It is the most common form of chronic liver disease worldwide. On ultrasound, NAFLD presents as hepatic steatosis with the characteristic appearance of diffusely increased echogenicity of the liver compared to the kidney cortex and loss of visualization of the posterior liver and diaphragm. Some patients develop nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), in which steatosis is accompanied by inflammation and fibrosis, predisposing to cirrhosis. Elastography can assess liver stiffness as a marker of fibrosis. Ultrasound cannot distinguish simple steatosis from NASH, so further evaluation may be needed for fibrosis assessment in high-risk patients.
Sonography Term