Liver scratch test

The liver scratch test (also known as Lazar's test) is a technique used by medical professionals during a physical exam to locate the inferior border of the liver in order to approximate the size of a patient's liver. The technique was first credited to Burton-Opitz in 1925[1] where it was used to identify the cardiac silhouette, however there are references of similar techniques used prior to this. The liver scratch test can be used when other exam techniques used to approximate liver size are ineffective or unavailable[2] and is thought to be most useful if the abdomen is distended, too tender for direct palpation, the abdominal muscles are too rigid, or the patient is obese.[3]

  1. ^ Gupta, Krishan; Dhawan, Akash; Abel, Christian; Talley, Nicholas; Attia, John (2013-02-25). "A re-evaluation of the scratch test for locating the liver edge". BMC Gastroenterology. 13: 35. doi:10.1186/1471-230X-13-35. ISSN 1471-230X. PMC 3598244. PMID 23442829.
  2. ^ O'Kelly, Aebhric. "Improvised Medicine: Aebhric O'Kelly on the scratch test". The Compass (Summer). College of Remote and Offshore Medicine: 11.
  3. ^ Mosby's guide to physical examination. Seidel, Henry M. (7th ed.). St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby/Elsevier. 2011. ISBN 978-0-323-05570-3. OCLC 501274024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)