Liver stiffness reversibly increases during pregnancy and independently predicts preeclampsia.

Aim: To study liver stiffness (LS) during pregnancy and its association with complications during pregnancy.

Methods: In this observational, diagnostic study, 537 pregnant women were prospectively enrolled at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University hospital Heidelberg and Salem Medical Center. LS was measured using the Fibroscan device (Echosens, Paris) in all women and in 41 cases 24 h after delivery.

Transient elastography with the XL probe rapidly identifies patients with nonhepatic ascites.

Background: In contrast with other elastographic techniques, ascites is considered an exclusion criterion for assessment of fibrosis stage by transient elastography. However, a normal liver stiffness could rule out hepatic causes of ascites at an early stage. The aim of the present study was to determine whether liver stiffness can be generally determined by transient elastography through an ascites layer, to determine whether the ascites-mediated increase in intra-abdominal pressure affects liver stiffness, and to provide initial data from a pilot cohort of patients with various causes of ascites.