ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Reference values for liver stiffness for healthy individuals vary worldwide. Different optimal cutoff values correspond to the stages of fibrosis in chronic liver disease. OBJECTIVES Characterize the distribution of liver stiffness in Cuban adults without liver disease and its association with age, serum uric acid and body mass index. METHODS A cross-sectional study was performed of 110 plasma donors recruited from the Havana Province Blood Bank January 2016 through February 2017. Measurements of liver stiffness were performed using a FibroScan elastography device on the same day of laboratory analyses and abdominal ultrasound. The Pearson coefficient was used to assess correlations, and the reference range was calculated using the mean and its 95% confidence interval. RESULTS Liver stiffness values observed ranged from 2.2–6.3 kPa. The reference range (95% CI) for the 110 subjects without known liver disease was 4.2–4.6 kPa (mean 4.4). A positive correlation was observed between liver stiffness measurements and body mass index (r = 0.255, p <0.01) and serum uric acid (r = 0.266, p <0.01). There was no correlation between liver stiffness and age. Liver stiffness in women was similar to that of men, 4.3 (2.4–6.1) and 4.5 (2.2–6.3) kPa, respectively (p = 0.086). CONCLUSIONS Liver stiffness in Cuban adults without liver disease ranges from 2.2–6.3 kPa. The reference range is 4.2–4.6 kPa. Body mass index and serum uric acid levels are positively associated with liver stiffness. CONTRIBUTION OF THIS RESEARCH This is the first Cuban study using FibroScan to measure liver stiffness; its results will enable better assessment of liver disease in clinical practice.

Fasciolasis is a cosmopolitan parasitic disease. The development of some diagnostic methods in imaging such as ultrasonography (US) and endoscopic retrograde Cholangio pancrea tography (ERCP),have given the possibility of detecting the presence of the parasite in the gall-bladder and in the extrahepatic biliary tract. Four cases of Fasciolasis in the biliary tract are presented, in which the ultrasonographics findings suggested a diagnosis of Fasciolasis which was later confirmed by a biliary drainage and/or stool culture. When there is no clinical evidence of parasitism, ultrasonography may help to assume the presence of parasite. The ERCP has the possibility to confirm the localization of the trematode in the extrahepatic biliary tract. Biliary tract Fasciolasis may present as a colestatic syndrome.

La Fasciolasis es una parasitosis cosmopolita. El desarrollo de algunos métodos diagnósticos en el terreno de la Imagenología, tales como la Ultrasonografía y la Colangiopancreatografía Retrógrada Endoscópica, ha brindado la oportunidad de detectar la presencia del parásito en la vesícula biliar y vías biliares extrahepáticas. Se presentan 4 casos de Fasciolasis de las vías biliares en los que los hallazgos ultrasonográficos hicieron sospechar el diagnóstico, que posteriormente fue corroborado mediante un drenaje biliar y/o estudios coprológicos. Cuando no existe sospecha clínica del parasitismo, la ecografía puede posibilitar la presunción de la existencia del mismo. La CPRE tiene utilidad para confirmar la localización del trematodo en las vías biliares extrahepáticas. La Fasciolasis de vías biliares puede presentarse como un síndrome colestásico.