FibroScan分别与GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4联合应用对慢性乙型肝炎合并非酒精性脂肪性肝病进展期肝纤维化的诊断价值比较

目的评价FibroScan、GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4单独应用及FibroScan分别与GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4联合应用对慢性乙型肝炎(CHB)合并非酒精性脂肪性肝病(NAFLD)患者进展期肝纤维化的诊断价值。方法选取2014年11月-2018年8月在四川省人民医院行肝穿刺病理检查并确诊为CHB合并NAFLD的患者92例。根据肝穿刺病理SAF分级诊断标准,分为轻中度肝纤维化(F1+F2)组(n=69)和进展期肝纤维化(F3)组(n=23)。同时应用FibroScan测得肝脏硬度值,根据临床指标分别计算GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4。计量资料两组间比较采用Mann-Whitney U检验;相关性分析采用Spearman秩相关;多因素二元logistic回归构建联合预测因子(向前逐步回归法),绘制受试者工作特征曲线(ROC曲线),计算ROC曲线下面积(AUC),并采用Delong方法进行比较,评价各种无创诊断方法单独及联合应用对CHB合并NAFLD进展期肝纤维化的诊断价值。结果轻中度肝纤维化组的FibroScan、GPR、APRI、NFS及FIB-4水平明显低于进展期肝纤维化组(Z值分别为-4.910、-3.425、-3.837、-3.873、-3.990,P值均<0.05)。相关性分析结果显示,FibroScan、GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4与肝纤维化病理分期均呈正相关(r值分别为0.518、0.361、0.405、0.407、0.418,P值均<0.001)。FibroScan、GPR、APRI、NFS及FIB-4单独应用对诊断进展期肝纤维化均有一定价值(AUC分别为0.844、0.740、0.770、0.771、0.779,P值均<0.001),但FibroScan诊断价值并不优于GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4(P值均>0.05)。将FibroScan分别与GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4联合,诊断进展期肝纤维化的AUC均较单独应用时明显提高(Z值分别为1.977、2.076、2.361、2.206,P值均<0.05);将FibroScan与GPR+APRI+NFS+FIB-4同时联合诊断进展期肝纤维化的AUC及95%可信区间为0.896(0.813~0.950)。结论FibroScan、GPR、APRI、NFS及FIB-4诊断进展期肝纤维化均有一定的临床价值,FibroScan分别与GPR、APRI、NFS、FIB-4联合诊断进展期肝纤维化的效能优于单项血清学模型,其中FibroScan联合NFS或FIB-4的临床价值可能最佳。     

Validation of Non-invasive Fibrosis Scores for Predicting Advanced Fibrosis in Metabolic-associated Fatty Liver Disease

Background and AimsMetabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a newly proposed terminology from 2020; yet, the applicability of conventional noninvasive fibrosis models is still unknown for it. We aimed to evaluate the performance of conventional noninvasive fibrosis scores in MAFLD.MethodsThe NHANES 2017-2018 datasets were used to compare the performances of different noninvasive fibrosis scores in MAFLD, including the aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI), body mass index (BMI)-AST/alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio and diabetes score (BARD), fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4), and NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS). Moreover, Asian patients with biopsy-proven MAFLD were enrolled to further validate the findings.ResultsA total of 2,622 participants in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) cohort and 293 patients with MAFLD in the Asian cohort were included. Patients in the Asian cohort had a lower BMI and higher liver enzymes (p<0.001). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of NFS was the largest in the NHANES cohort and Asian cohorts (0.679 and 0.699, respectively). The AUROC of NFS was followed by APRI, FIB-4, and BARD in the NHANES cohort (0.616, 0.601, and 0.589, respectively). In the Asian cohort, the AUROC of APRI, FIB-4, and BARD for predicting advanced fibrosis were 0.625, 0.683, and 0.615, respectively. The performance of FIB-4 was better in the Asian cohort than that in the NHANES cohort.ConclusionsNFS is better for predicting advanced fibrosis in MAFLD. FIB-4 can be an alternative choice for MAFLD with high liver enzymes when NFS is unavailable. Novel efficient noninvasive fibrosis scoring systems are highly required for patients with MAFLD.     

Plateletcrit as a potential index for predicting liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B

Noninvasive tests (NITs) for liver fibrosis are highly needed for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. We aimed to investigate whether plateletcrit (PCT) could be used as a NIT in predicting liver fibrosis for CHB patients. Five hundred and sixty‐seven treatment‐naïve CHB patients with available liver biopsies were included. Patients were randomly divided into a derivation cohort (n = 378) and a validation cohort (n = 189). The diagnostic accuracy of PCT was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. In the derivation cohort, PCT in CHB patients with S2‐S4 (0.14%), S3‐S4 (0.13%) and S4 (0.12%) was lower than patients with S0‐S1 (0.17%, P < .001), S0‐S2 (0.17%, P < .001) and S0‐S3 (0.16%, P < .001), respectively. PCT was an independent predictor of significant fibrosis (≥S2), advanced fibrosis (≥S3) and cirrhosis (S4). The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of PCT in predicting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis was 0.645, 0.709 and 0.714, respectively. The AUROC of PCT was higher than the aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI) in identifying advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, while this was comparable with APRI in identifying significant fibrosis. The diagnostic value of PCT was comparable with fibrosis‐4 score (FIB‐4) in predicting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. In the validation cohort, PCT could also identify significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis with similar diagnostic accuracy as in the derivation cohort. PCT represents a simple and inexpensive indictor for liver fibrosis in CHB patients. PCT is just as good or better than other more complex tools for staging liver fibrosis in CHB patients.     

Serum markers for predicting advanced fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

To compare the diagnostic utility of serum markers in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).This study enrolled 118 consecutive biopsy-proven NAFLD patients with or without CHB. Fibrosis scores of each marker were compared against histological fibrosis staging. Receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis helped assess the accuracy of each marker.In patients with both diseases, 12.96% (7/54) had advanced fibrosis on biopsy and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet ratio index was the best performing marker for predicting advanced fibrosis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), and area under the ROC (95% confidence interval) for AST to platelet ratio index (APRI) were 0%, 93.62%, 0%, 86.27%, and 0.676 (0.524–0.828), respectively. The markers ranked as follows from highest to lowest with respect to their accuracy: APRI; BARD; fibrosis-4; and AST to ALT ratio. In patients without CHB, fibrosis-4 was the best performing marker for predicting advanced fibrosis. The sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV, and area under the ROC (95% confidence interval) for fibrosis-4 were 77.78%, 85.45%, 46.67%, 95.92%, and 0.862 (0.745–0.978), respectively.Serum markers are less reliable in predicting advanced fibrosis in NAFLD patients with CHB; APRI is the most accurate predictor of the absence of advanced fibrosis.     

四种方法诊断慢性乙型肝炎合并轻度肝脂肪变患者肝纤维化比较

目的 比较血清学诊断模型APRI、FIB-4 和Forns指数及FibroScan检查评估合并轻度肝脂肪变的CHB患者肝纤维化的价值。方法 在309例经肝活检病理学检查确诊的CHB患者中,194例无肝脂肪变,115例合并轻度肝脂肪变,同期行FibroScan检查,得到肝硬度值（LSM）,收集实验室检查指标,根据公式计算出相应的APRI、FIB-4、Forns指数。以肝组织病理学表现为金标准,根据受试者工作曲线（ROC）评价4种方法诊断两组患者肝纤维化的效能。结果 两组患者LSM、APRI、FIB-4、Forns指数差异均无统计学意义（P均＞0.05）;在未合并肝脂肪变组,LSM、APRI、FIB-4、Forns指数诊断CHB患者明显肝纤维化（≥F2）的ROC曲线下面积（AUROC）分别为0.77、0.69、0.72、0.69（P均<0.05）,其相应的截断点分别为10.2、0.5、0.9、5.3;诊断肝硬化（≥F4）时,其AUROC分别为0.86、0.72、0.77、0.77（P均<0.05）,其相应的截断点分别为11.8、0.6、1.3、5.1;在合并肝脂肪变组,它们诊断CHB患者≥F2肝纤维化的AUROC分别为0.79、0.67、0.74、0.77（P均<0.05）,其相应的截断点分别为9.7、0.4、1.1、5.7;诊断≥F4的AUROC分别为0.88、0.71、0.75、0.78（P均<0.05）,其相应的截断点分别为11.8、1.1、1.5、5.4; APRI 和FIB-4不能诊断两组患者轻度肝纤维化（P＞0.05）;LSM诊断两组≥F2肝纤维化及≥F3或≥F4进展性肝纤维化或肝硬化的效能均优于APRI。结论 APRI评价合并轻度肝脂肪变的CHB患者肝纤维化效能较差,而LSM、FIB-4、Forns指数诊断效能较好,其中轻度肝脂肪变可能影响Forns指数诊断CHB患者肝纤维化效能。     

Non-invasive fibrosis markers for assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis delta

Assessment of liver fibrosis by non-invasive means is clinically important. Studies in chronic hepatitis delta (CHD) are scarce. We evaluated the performance of eight serum fibrosis markers [fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR), age-platelet index (API), AST-to platelet-ratio-index (APRI), Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index (GUCI), Lok index, cirrhosis discriminant score (CDS) and Hui score] in CHD and chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Liver stiffness was assessed by transient elastography (TE) in CHD. The ability of fibrosis markers to detect significant fibrosis and cirrhosis were evaluated in 202 CHB and 108 CHD patients using published and new cut-offs through receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. The latter was also applied to obtain cut-offs for TE. APRI, Fib-4, API and Hui score were assessed for significant fibrosis, and APRI, GUCI, Lok index, CDS and AAR for cirrhosis determination. Fibrosis markers displayed weak performance in CHB for significant fibrosis with area under ROC (AUROC) curves between 0.62 and 0.71. They did slightly better for CHD. TE displayed an AUROC of 0.92 and performed better than serum fibrosis markers (p < 0.05 for fibrosis markers). For cirrhosis determination, CDS and Lok Index displayed an AUROC of 088 and 0.89 in CHB and GUCI, Lok index and APRI displayed AUROCs around 0.90 in CHD. TE displayed the best AUROC (0.95). Hence TE is superior to serum fibrosis markers for diagnosing significant liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. GUCI, Lok index and APRI displayed a reasonable performance in CHD, which needs further confirmation.     

Identifying Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Advanced Fibrosis in the Veterans Health Administration

Background

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. Severe NAFLD with advanced fibrosis results in substantial morbidity and mortality. Associated with metabolic syndrome, NAFLD is often initially clinically silent, yet intensive lifestyle intervention with 7% or greater weight loss can improve or resolve NAFLD. Using a Veterans Health Administration (VHA) liver biopsy cohort, we evaluated simple noninvasive fibrosis scoring systems to identify NAFLD with advanced fibrosis (or severe disease) to assist providers.

Methods

In our retrospective study of a national VHA sample of patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD or normal liver (2005–2015), we segregated patients by fibrosis stage (0–4). Non-NAFLD liver disease was excluded. We evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of the NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), fibrosis-4 calculator (FIB-4), aspartate aminotransferase-to-alanine aminotransferase ratio (AST/ALT ratio), AST-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), and body mass index, AST/ALT ratio, and diabetes (BARD) score by age groups.

Results

We included 329 patients with well-defined liver histology (296 NAFLD and 33 normal controls without fibrosis), in which 92 (28%) had advanced (stage 3–4) fibrosis. Across all age groups, NFS and FIB-4 best predicted advanced fibrosis (NFS with 0.676 threshold: AUROC 0.71–0.76, LR?+?2.30–22.05, OR 6.00–39.58; FIB-4 with 2.67 threshold: AUROC of 0.62–0.80, LR?+?4.70–27.45, OR 16.34–59.65).

Conclusions

While NFS and FIB-4 scores exhibit good diagnostic accuracy, FIB-4 is optimal in identifying NAFLD advanced fibrosis in the VHA. Easily implemented as a point-of-care clinical test, FIB-4 can be useful in directing patients that are most likely to have advanced fibrosis to GI/hepatology consultation and follow-up.

     

AST to Platelet Ratio Index and fibrosis 4 calculator scores for non-invasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Background & aimsLiver fibrosis is the single most important prognostic factor in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The predictive value of the AST to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) score, originally developed for fibrosis assessment in hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients, is much less known in the context of NAFLD patients.MethodsWe retrospectively compared the performance of APRI and fibrosis 4 calculator (FIB-4) scores in NAFLD patients with documented liver biopsies, to their performance in chronic HCV patients.Results153 patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD and 297 patients with biopsy-proven chronic HCV infection were included. The APRI score was a good predictor for advanced fibrosis in NAFLD patients (area under the ROC curve 0.8307) although it was modestly inferior as compared to the well-validated FIB-4 score (area under the ROC curve 0.8959). The predictive value of APRI score in NALFD patients was inferior as compared to its predictive value in HCV patients (area under the ROC curve of 0.8307 versus 0.9965). In contrast to FIB-4, APRI score was not a good discriminator between intermediate stages of fibrosis in NAFLD patients.ConclusionsAPRI and Fib-4 scores are reasonable tools to allocate NAFLD patients with advanced fibrosis. FIB-4 may better discriminate between intermediate fibrosis stages.     

Diagnostic performance of three non-invasive fibrosis scores (Hepamet,FIB-4, NAFLD fibrosis score) in NAFLD patients from a mixed Latin American population

Introduction and aimsSeveral non-invasive scoring systems have been developed and validated worldwide to predict the risk of liver fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, information about the performance of these systems in Latin American populations is scarce. Our aim was to evaluate the performance of the Hepamet Fibrosis Score, Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) and the NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS) in a mixed Latin American group of NAFLD patients.MethodsClinical, laboratory and liver biopsy data collected from 379 biopsy-proven NAFLD patients from Latin American tertiary health centers were reviewed. Histological fibrosis stages were classified using the Kleiner score. Accuracy was determined, and new fibrosis score thresholds were calculated to better compare the performances of non-invasive tests and to explore their usefulness in excluding fibrosis.ResultsThe distribution of fibrosis stages among the sample population was as follows: F0 (45%), F1 (27%), F2 (8%), F3 (16%) and F4 (4%). Using modified thresholds, the areas under the ROC curves (AUROC) for Hepamet and FIB-4 (0.73 and 0.74, respectively) to detect significant fibrosis were higher than that of NFS (0.58). However, the AUROCs of the three scores were not significantly different in advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. To exclude fibrosis, we calculated lower cutoffs than standard thresholds for Hepamet, FIB-4 and NFS with similar performances.ConclusionThresholds of non-invasive fibrosis scores (Hepamet, FIB-4 and NFS) can be modified to maximize diagnostic accuracy in Latin American patients with NAFLD.     

Comparative evaluation of GPR versus APRI and FIB‐4 in predicting different levels of liver fibrosis of chronic hepatitis B

It is of great significance to develop and evaluate noninvasive indexes predicting the level of liver fibrosis. The aim of this study was to comparatively evaluate gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase‐to‐platelet ratio (GPR) versus aspartate aminotransferase‐to‐platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB‐4) in predicting different levels of liver fibrosis of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) within the framework of HBeAg‐positive and HBeAg‐negative patients. A total of 1157 HBeAg‐positive and 859 HBeAg‐negative CHB patients were enrolled, among whom the pathological stage ≥S2, ≥S3, ≥S4 were defined as significant fibrosis, extensive fibrosis and cirrhosis, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used to evaluate the performance of GPR, APRI and FIB‐4 in predicting different levels of liver fibrosis. In HBeAg‐positive patients, the area under ROC curves (AUROCs) of GPR in predicting extensive fibrosis and cirrhosis were both significantly larger than those of APRI (P = .0001 and P < .0001). In HBeAg‐negative patients, the AUROCs of GPR in predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis were significantly larger than those of FIB‐4 (P = .0006 and P = .0041). The AUROC of GPR in predicting extensive fibrosis was significantly larger than that of APRI and FIB‐4 (P = .0320 and P = .0018). Using a cut‐off of GPR > 0.500 as standard, the sensitivities and specificities of GPR in predicting significant fibrosis in HBeAg‐positive patients were 59.6% and 81.2%, and for cirrhosis 80.9% and 63.8%, respectively; and those of HBeAg‐negative patients were 60.3% and 78.3%, 84.5% and 66.1%, respectively. Regardless of HBeAg‐positive or HBeAg‐negative status, GPR had the best performance in predicting different levels of liver fibrosis.     

Noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis with the aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI): Usefulness in patients with chronic liver disease: APRI in chronic liver disease

Background

The aspartate aminotransferases (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI) may serve as a noninvasive marker to assess liver fibrosis.

Objectives

To assess the diagnostic ability of the APRI for prediction of fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Patients and Methods

This retrospective study included 207 patients with CHB, 108 with CHC, and 140 patients with NAFLD. The APRI was calculated as (AST level/upper normal limit for AST)/platelet counts (109/L) × 100. The stage of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic viral hepatitis was graded using the METAVIR scale. The Kleiner system for grading fibrosis was used in patients with NAFLD.

Results

Bivariate correlation analyses showed that the APRI was significantly associated with fibrosis scores in patients with CHC (p = 0.2634, p = 0.0059) and NAFLD (p = 0.2273, p = 0.0069), but not in those with CHB (p = 0.1005, p = 0.1495). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were used for assessing the ability of the APRI as a predictor of the absence or presence of liver fibrosis (fibrosis score of 0 vs fibrosis scores of 1-4). In patients with CHC, the APRI showed a sensitivity of 72.7% and a specificity of 62.4% for detection of fibrosis (p<0.01). In the NAFLD group, the APRI showed a sensitivity of 60.0% and specificity of 73.3% for detection of fibrosis (p<0.01). In patients with CHB, the APRI showed a sensitivity of 55.0% and a specificity of 75.4% for fibrosis (p=NS).

Conclusions

The APRI shows an acceptable accuracy for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with CHC and NAFLD, but not in those with CHB.     

A novel noninvasive index for the prediction of moderate to severe fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients

BackgroundsThe evaluation of liver fibrosis stages is essential for the clinical management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB).AimsTo develop and validate a novel noninvasive index for moderate to severe fibrosis (≥S2) in CHB patients.MethodsA total of 401 CHB patients who underwent liver biopsy were divided into the training (n = 300) and validation (n = 101) cohort. Histological severity was scored using a modified Scheuer system. Clinical and laboratory assessments were collected.ResultsIn the training cohort, PACG, a novel index combining the quantitative hepatitis B core antibody (qAnti-HBc), platelet count (PLT), and albumin globulin ratio (A/G), presented better diagnostic performance (AUROC = 0.814) than that of APRI (0.735, p = 0.007) and FIB-4 (0.749, p = 0.014). In the validation cohort, the AUROC of the PACG, APRI, FIB-4 and Fibroscan were 0.834, 0.806, 0.791 and 0.810, respectively. More importantly, a higher and lower cutoff of PACG for predicting ≥S2 fibrosis or not had a >90% sensitivity and specificity, with a diagnostic accuracy of 85.9%.ConclusionPACG is a promising noninvasive alternative to liver biopsy in CHB patients for the evaluation of moderate to severe fibrosis.     

Evaluation and comparison of thirty noninvasive models for diagnosing liver fibrosis in chinese hepatitis B patients

The limitations of liver biopsy have led to the development of indirect noninvasive models for liver fibrosis assessment. We aimed to evaluate and compare the performance of 30 noninvasive models to predict fibrosis stage in treatment‐naïve and treated chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. A total of 576 Chinese treatment‐naïve CHB patients and 236 treated CHB patients who had undergone percutaneous liver biopsy were included in the analysis. Histological grading and staging was assessed by the Ishak scoring system. The diagnostic accuracies of 30 noninvasive models were assessed by area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs). In treatment‐naïve CHB patients, the AUROCs of the 30 noninvasive models for discriminating significant fibrosis (SF) were less than 0.800, and only the AUROC of the PP score for diagnosing advanced fibrosis (AF) was more than 0.800, while the AUROCs of FIB‐4, FibroQ, HB‐F, Lok index, PHP score and PP score for predicting cirrhosis were greater than 0.800. In treated CHB patients, only the AUROCs of APRI, GUCI, King's score and Wang I for identifying cirrhosis were more than 0.800. The Spearman correlation analysis identified that only the changes in FCI and Virahep‐C model values were weakly correlated with changes in Ishak fibrosis scores before and after treatment (r = 0.206, p = 0.008; r = 0.187, p = 0.016, respectively). In conclusion, in Chinese CHB patients, the 30 existing noninvasive models were not suitable for assessing each stage of fibrosis except cirrhosis before and after antiviral therapy, especially in gauging progression and regression of liver fibrosis following therapy.     

FibroScan联合多种预测模型预测肝硬化患者食管静脉曲张程度应用价值探讨

目的 探讨应用FibroScan和其他指标评判肝硬化患者食管静脉曲张(EV)程度的临床价值。方法 142例肝硬化患者接受胃镜检查,了解食管胃底静脉曲张情况,使用FibroScan检测肝脏硬度值(LSM),计算天冬氨酸氨基转移酶/血小板比值指数(APRI)、基于 4 因子的纤维化指数(FIB- 4)和γ-谷氨酰转肽酶/血小板计数模型(GPR),绘制受试者工作特征曲线(ROC),并计算曲线下面积(AUROC),评价各指标评判EV的临床价值。结果 本组患者经胃镜检查,发现无EV组49例,有EV组93例(G1 28例,G2 30例,G3 35例);EV组LSM、APRI、FIB-4和GPR分别为(25.8±1.6)kPa、(1.5±0.1)、(5.3±0.3)和(0.9±0.1),均显著大于无EV组【分别为(15.2±1.5)kPa、(0.7±0.1)、(2.9±0.3)和(0.4±0.1),P<0.05】;严重EV组LSM、APRI、FIB-4和GPR也显著大于无EV或轻度EV组;LSM、APRI、FIB-4和GPR判断EV≥G2的截断点分别为19.20 kPa、1.9、4.9和0.5,其诊断的灵敏度和特异度分别为68.7%和96.7%、60.0%和89.80%、61.5%和91.80%,和60.0%和85.70%。结论 应用FibroScan、APRI、FIB-4和GPR等无创性指标可以预测肝硬化患者食管静脉曲张的存在,对不能行胃镜检查的患者可作为一种替代方法而做出判断。     

Transient elastography for measurement of liver stiffness measurement can detect early significant hepatic fibrosis in Japanese patients with viral and nonviral liver diseases

BACKGROUND: Many studies have reported the efficiency of transient elastography, a noninvasive, reproducible, and reliable method for predicting liver fibrosis, in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) and B (CHB), but there are few reports about nonviral chronic liver disease (CLD) such as primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC), nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD), and autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). We therefore compared the efficiency of transient elastography between CHC and nonviral CLD. METHODS: We assessed the accuracy of liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using Fibroscan, and compared these values with those of hyaluronic acid, type 4 collagen, platelet count, prothrombin index, and AST/platelet ratio index (APRI) as indices for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in 114 patients with a variety of chronic liver diseases: CHC (n = 51), CHB (n = 11), NAFLD (n = 17), PBC (n = 20), and AIH (n = 15). The histology was assessed according to the METAVIR score by two pathologists. RESULTS: The number of fibrosis stage (F0/1/2/3/4) with CHC was 9/15/12/6/10, and that with nonviral CLD was 10/21/11/4/6, respectively. The ability, assessed by area under receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve, to predict liver fibrosis F >or= 2 for LSM, HA, type 4 collagen, platelet count, prothrombin index, and APRI, was 0.92, 0.81, 0.87, 0.85, 0.85, and 0.92 in CHC patients, respectively; and 0.88, 0.72, 0.81, 0.67, 0.81, and 0.77 in nonviral CLD patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: In patients with nonviral CLD, LSM was most helpful in predicting significant fibrosis (F >or= 2). Transient elastography is a reliable method for predicting significant liver fibrosis, not only in CHC patients but also in nonviral CLD patients.     

Staging of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients with a composite predictive model:A comparative study

AIM:To evaluate the efficacy of 6 noninvasive liver fibrosis models and to identify the most valuable model for the prediction of liver fibrosis stage in chronic hepatitis B(CHB) patients.METHODS:Seventy-eight CHB patients were consecutively enrolled in this study.Liver biopsy was performed and blood serum was obtained at admission.Histological diagnosis was made according to the METAVIR system.Significant fibrosis was defined as stage score ≥ 2,severe fibrosis as stage score ≥ 3.The diagnostic accuracy of ...     

The gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase‐to‐albumin ratio predicts significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B patients

Background/Aim Simple, inexpensive and clinically available noninvasive liver fibrosis tests are highly needed. We aimed to develop a novel noninvasive index for predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. Methods Using liver histology as gold standard, we developed a novel index to predict significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in CHB patients and then compared the diagnostic accuracy of the novel index, aspartate transaminase‐to‐platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB‐4) in a training set (606 patients) and a validation set (216 patients) from the same patient catchment area. Results Of 606 CHB patients in the training set, 33.2% had significant fibrosis and 11.4% had cirrhosis. In multivariable analysis, gamma‐glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) (OR=1.032, p<0.001) and albumin (OR=0.953, p=0.048) were independent predictors of significant fibrosis. Consequently, a GGT‐to‐albumin ratio (GAR) was developed. In the training set, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of GAR was significantly higher than that of APRI and FIB‐4 to predict ≥F2 (0.82, 0.70, and 0.68, respectively), ≥F3 (0.86, 0.76, and 0.75, respectively), and F4 (0.88, 0.75, and 0.73, respectively), respectively. In the validation set, the AUROC of GAR was also better than APRI and FIB‐4 for predicting ≥F2 (0.81, 0.63 and 0.61, respectively), ≥F3 (0.88, 0.78, and 0.76, respectively) and F4 (0.92, 0.85, and 0.78, respectively), respectively. Conclusions GAR is a more accurate noninvasive index than APRI and FIB‐4 to stage significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in CHB patients and represents a novel noninvasive alternative to liver biopsy.     

New FIB-4 and NFS cutoffs to guide sequential non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis by magnetic resonance elastography in NAFLD

Introduction and ObjectivesLiver fibrosis is an important prognosis marker in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Biopsy has been considered the gold-standard method for measuring liver fibrosis; however, it is an invasive procedure. Non-invasive diagnostic tools have been developed, such as clinical scores and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), which is the most accurate non-invasive method to determine liver fibrosis. Thus, the aim was to determine the NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS) and the Fibrosis-4 Score (FIB-4) cut-off points that best identify NAFLD patients at risk for developing liver fibrosis.Patients and MethodsSingle-center cross-sectional study with prospective recruitment of NAFLD (training-cohort) and MAFLD (validation-cohort) patients undergoing MRE. The NFS and the FIB-4 cut-off points that best-differentiated patients with fibrosis, using the MRE as the standard method, were determined.ResultsTwo cohorts were analyzed, a training cohort that included the initial 183 patients with NAFLD and a validation cohort that included 289 patients. In the training cohort, 60.1% had mild steatosis and 11.5% had liver fibrosis ≥ F1 by MRE. ROC curves were developed for FIB-4 and NFS, and the cut-off points chosen were 1.505 (sensitivity=85% and specificity=86%) for FIB-4 and -0.835 (sensitivity=100% and specificity=70%) for NFS, showing greater specificity than the cut-off points currently used (51% and 76%, respectively). The two cohorts exhibited similar characteristics and similar sensitivity and specificity results for the chosen cut-off points.ConclusionsThis study has shown cut-off points with greater specificity and excellent sensitivity to guide the indication for further liver evaluation by MRE in NAFLD patients.     

Validation and comparison of simple noninvasive indexes for predicting liver fibrosis in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients: ANRS CO3 Aquitaine cohort

BACKGROUND:  Although an increasing number of noninvasive fibrosis markers are available in HCV-monoinfected patients, data on the performance of these tests in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients are lacking.
OBJECTIVE:  To assess the diagnostic performance for predicting hepatic fibrosis stage of four simple and inexpensive noninvasive indexes (FIB-4, APRI, Forns, and platelet count) in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients.
METHODS:  Two hundred consecutive HIV-HCV-coinfected patients from the ANRS-CO3 Aquitaine cohort who underwent liver biopsy were studied. Fibrosis stage was assessed according to Metavir scoring system by a single pathologist unaware of the data of the patients. Diagnostic performances were assessed by measuring the areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) and the percentage of patients correctly identified (PCI).
RESULTS:  For predicting significant fibrosis (F ≥ 2), APRI, Forns index, and FIB-4 had AUROCS of 0.77, 0.75, and 0.79, with 39%, 25%, and 70% of PCI, respectively. For predicting severe fibrosis (F ≥ 3), FIB-4 had AUROC of 0.77 with 56% of PCI. For predicting cirrhosis (F4), FIB-4, APRI, and platelet count had AUROCs of 0.80, 0.79, and 0.78, with 59%, 60%, and 76% of PCI, respectively. Overall, diagnostic performances of the different indexes did not differ significantly for both significant fibrosis and cirrhosis.
CONCLUSION:  The use of these noninvasive indexes could save liver biopsies in up to 56–76% of cases for the prediction of severe fibrosis-cirrhosis. However, given the high percentage of misclassified cases for significant fibrosis, such indexes do not appear currently suitable for use in clinical practice in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients.