With the objective of establishing itself as the premiere hospital in Mindanao, Davao Doctors Hospital unveiled on Friday its recently-acquired medical facility, Fibroscan 502 Touch which can detect the liver stiffness, severity of scarring and amount of fats deposited in it.
DDH Chief Finance Officer Paul Richard Camangian in his opening remarks said to achieve its goal to utilize state-of-the-art equipment, DDH has a capital spending of P300 million in 2016.
Dr. Marilyn Arguillas, head of the Clinical Head of Endoscopy Unit and Liver Center at the DDH, bared in a press conference that fatty liver disease has become one of the world’s alarming global common chronic diseases as shown by a 2004 research saying 16.7 percent of Filipinos suffers from Hepatitis B. Other liver diseases include Hepatitis C and fatty livers. Fatty Liver disease is classified in two types: Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (AFTD) and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
“But majority now have non-alcoholic fatty disease, these are those diabetic, overweight, obese and has metabolic syndrome. Some slim individuals are also positive with fatty liver disease,” she said.
In a data from University of the Philippines – Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) , 12 percent of their patients are diagnosed with NAFLD. Arguillas stressed the data only covers only UP-GPH patients which means a greater number remain undiagnosed or unrecorded.
The new Fibroscan with Controlled Attenuation Parameter can measure liver fat, unlike the older Fibroscan model DDH acquired on 2012.
Arguillas said compared to biopsy with a 0.001 percent risk of patient mortality the new Fibroscan is equipped with a Controlled Attenuation Parameter, a tool for non-invasive assessment and accumulation of fat in the liver which could be repeated to monitor the patient’s liver without side effects.
“It is not painful, you’ll just feel a slight vibration over your skin radiating from the ergonomic probe. It can be repeated to monitor one’s liver health without any side effects,” said Arguillas.
“Our Fibroscan can detect fatty liver, can detect if the scarring starts to develop on the way to cirrhosis. The journey starts from fatty liver disease, or chronic hepatitis B or C, or from alcoholic liver disease. That journey takes you to the road of cirrhosis,” she added.
Arguillas said an average of 120 to 130 patients in Mindanao are using Fibroscan in DDH every month. She added, many of her patients are coming from areas outside Davao Region including Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato Province.
To avail the procedure, price varies depending on the person’s body size. Those with normal Body Mass Index (BMI), patients will be charged with P3,800 for the medium-sized probe while those obese and overweight will be charged with P4,000 for the XL-sized probe.
