Noninvasive diagnosis in alcohol-related liver disease.

In order to detect earlier features of advanced liver fibrosis, surrogate biomarkers and techniques have been developed. While these were initially developed for chronic liver diseases such as viral hepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), their performance in ALD has also been recently studied. Among the noninvasive surrogate markers and techniques used to detect liver fibrosis, the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis test, FibroTest, and Transient Elastography are the most accurate and validated techniques. In this review, we summarize the current status of the noninvasive assessment of liver disease in ALD and provide a synthesis of how these noninvasive tools can be used in clinical practice. Finally, we briefly outline novel biomarkers that are currently being investigated and discuss future directions and new opportunities in the noninvasive diagnosis of ALD.