Systemic mastocytosis–a rare case of dramatically increased liver stiffness

Aims: Liver stiffness measured by transient elastography is a non-invasive surrogate for liver fibrosis. Several conditions, however, have been identified that increase liver stiffness independently of fibrosis e.g. acute viral hepatitis, bile duct obstruction, and cardiac insufficiency. Although most of these interferences can be easily diagnosed by clinical examination, ultrasound, and basic blood tests, transient elastography still needs to prove whether it is a reliable method in clinical routine. We here report on a patient with drastically increased liver stiffness that was eventually caused by systemic ma…