Today, Siemens Healthineers announced the availability of its Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF™) testing service* in the United States. The testing service is provided by the Siemens Healthcare Laboratory (SHL), LLC, a unit of Siemens Healthineers that can test samples submitted from all states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico, excluding New York State (pending NY approval).

Using a small, convenient blood sample from a patient, the SHL ELF test provides a simple, unitless numeric score via an algorithm by combining the quantitative measurements in a serum sample of three direct markers of liver fibrosis; hyaluronic acid (HA), amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1). This ELF Score can improve patient care by identifying chronic liver disease patients, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and stratifying those at risk of progressing to liver related events i ii .

"Identifying patients with advancing liver fibrosis is a challenge for physicians given the silent nature of the disease. Combined with the increasing burden of liver fibrosis, the demand for efficient, accurate, and safe means testing patients who are at risk of liver-related outcomes becomes increasingly important for helping manage their condition," says Patrick Joseph, MD, Medical Director of Siemens Healthcare Laboratory. "Our ELF testing service, that measures three direct markers of fibrosis, represents a clinically validated, reliable and convenient testing solution for physicians to help manage patients with progressing liver fibrosis associated with NAFLD and NASH."
Chronic liver disease, characterized by liver fibrosis leading to cirrhosis and life-threatening liver related outcomes, is caused by viral hepatitis, excess alcohol consumption and metabolic diseases such as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) which is a form of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)iii . The burden and costs of chronic liver disease is increasing dramatically as a result of the high prevalence of NAFLD associated with the obesity epidemic. In the US alone NASH affects around 1.5 to 6.45% of the general populationiv and NAFLD is predicted to be the leading indication for liver transplantation within a decadev. Consequently, there is significant need for convenient, reliable and reproducible blood tests like the SHL ELF testing service that help identify patients with signs and symptoms of chronic liver disease who may progress to potentially life-threatening liver-related outcomes, which can help improve the prediction of NAFLD/NASH and chronic liver disease patients at risk of disease progression.1

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