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The abdominal ultrasound (AU) is a diagnostic imaging modality that is yet to be established in most Gastrointestinal (GI) Units in Spain. This is largely due to the difficulties that GI specialists face with regard to the appropriate training received when starting the specialty. Insufficient resources have been allocated to develop AU units in many GI units where AUs are performed. The equipment is obsolete and there are no adaptations to the needs of the GI specialist to provide good medical care. Thus, due to all the above, the AU does not hold the position it deserves in our specialty. This probably stems from a lack of impulse and/or support to the technique, which has underestimated its usefulness and has limited the implementation of resources in the GI units. For the AU to overcome these obstacles, it needs to be considered as a process or a series of activities based on scientific evidence and the experience of professionals that achieves a result that covers the patients' needs with minimal risk. In this article, we defend the need to boost AU as a key discipline for the diagnosis of digestive diseases. Quality is considered as the key aspect on which this transformation and improvement is founded.

Objective: The hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is a pleiotropic cytokine produced by hepatic stellate cells and implicated in liver regeneration and fibrosis. Serum levels of HGF vary in liver diseases, reflecting hepatic damage and hepatocellular dysfunction. In this study, serum levels of HGF and the relationship between HGF and biochemical, histological and virological data, have been analysed in patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C (CHC)., Patients and Methods: Serum HGF concentration was measured by ELISA in sandwich in 45 patients with CHC. Correlation between HGF levels and histological (necroinflammatory activity and fibrosis score) and biochemical (transaminases, prothrombin activity, albumin, bilirubin), or virological (hepatitis C virus load) parameters was analyzed. Serum HGF concentration was also studied in a subgroup of the original sample treated with interferon and ribavirin., Results: Sserum HGF concentrations of patients with CHC were significantly higher than those detected in healthy controls. Patients with significant fibrosis (F > or = 2) had a significantly older age, lower count of platelets and higher values of AST, GGT and HGF, than those patients with a fibrosis score F < 2. HGF concentration was identified by multivariate analysis as the only independent factor associated with significant fibrosis. Moreover, area under receiver operating curve, using HCG levels, showed similar values to those of previously validated non-invasive indexes of fibrosis. However, levels of HGF did not show a significant decrease in patients with a sustained response to anti-virus C therapy., Conclusion: Serum HGF concentration correlates with fibrosis score in patients with CHC, but is insensitive to monitor changes induced by anti-virus C therapy.