A novel non-invasive model for the prediction of advanced liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients with NAFLD

There are still lack of non-invasive models to evaluate liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to establish a predictive model for advanced fibrosis in these patients. A total of 504 treatment-naive CHB patients with NAFLD who underwent liver biopsy were enrolled and randomly divided into a training set (n = 336) and a validation set (n = 168). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to compare predicting accuracy for the different models. One hundred fifty-six patients (31.0%) had advanced fibrosis. In the training set, platelet, prothrombin time, type 2 diabetes, HBeAg positivity and globulin were significantly associated with advanced fibrosis by multivariable analysis. A predictive model namely PPDHG for advanced fibrosis was developed based on these parameters. The areas under the ROC curve (AUROC) of PPDHG with an optimal cut-off value of −0.980 in predicting advanced fibrosis was 0.817 (95% confidence interval 0.772 to 0.862), with a sensitivity of 81.82% and a specificity of 66.81%. The predicting accuracy of PPDHG for advanced fibrosis was significantly superior to AST to platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) and NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS). Further analysis revealed that the AUROC of PPDHG remained significantly higher than FIB-4 and NFS indexes, while it was comparable with APRI for predicting advanced fibrosis in the validation set. PPDHG had a better predicting performance than established models for advanced fibrosis in CHB patients with NAFLD. The application of PPDHG can reduce the necessary for liver biopsy in these patients.     

慢性乙型肝炎合并肝脂肪变的临床病理学特点及相关因素分析

目的探讨慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）合并脂肪肝的临床病理学特征及相关因素。方法病例选自2008年7月2009年12月期间有肝活组织检查的CHB患者306例,根据肝组织中脂肪变肝细胞〈5%小叶内肝细胞者为CHB组,脂肪变肝细胞〉5%者,为CHB合并脂肪肝组。对两组的临床与病理特征进行比较。结果 306例CHB患者中,合并肝脂肪变141例（46.1%）,不合并肝脂肪变165例（53.9%）。各种临床生化及病理指标中,高体重指数（P〈0.0001）和性别（P=0.008）是CHB患者合并肝细胞脂肪变的危险因素,与患者年龄、血糖、胆固醇和肝组织学炎症分级和分期无关（P〉0.05）。结论 CHB合并肝脂肪变的发生主要与高体重指数及男性相关     

慢性乙型肝炎患者肝细胞脂肪变的发生率及其危险因素分析

目的 了解肝细胞脂肪变在慢性乙型肝炎(CHB)患者中的发生率及危险因素.方法 对2005年1月-2007年6月经肝活组织检查证实的CHB患者进行回顾性研究,剔除合并HCV和HW等病毒感染及其他慢性肝病.调查肝细胞脂肪变在CHB患者中的发生率及其变化趋势,分析肝脂肪变与相关的人口学特征、病毒学指标和生物化学指标、以及肝组织学改变之间的关系.结果 在1915例CHB患者中,男1497例,女418例,平均年龄(30.7±9.5)岁.肝组织病理显示肝细胞脂肪变发生率为13.6%(260/1915),并呈逐年增高趋势(2005-2007年分别为11.2%、14.30、17.9%).肝细胞脂肪变程度<30%(FI)的患者占90.4%;男性肝脂肪变(15.2%,228/1497)明显高于女性(7.7%,32/418).有肝脂肪变的CHB患者,其体重指数、年龄、空腹血糖和尿酸明显高于无肝脂肪变患者,t值分别为6.01,3.60,4.72,9.55,P值均<0.01.超重、肥胖、糖尿病,血脂异常和高尿酸血症患病率也明显高于无肝脂肪变患者,x2值分别为17.00,169.45,6.12,116.67,76.34,P值均<0.05.轻度CHB患者肝脂肪变发生率(17.8%)显著高于慢性HBsAg携带者(8.6%)以及CHB中度(9.4%)和重度(7.7%)患者;同样,炎症活动度G1患者肝脂肪变发生率(19.8%)和纤维化程度S1患者肝脂肪变发生率(19.1%)分别显著高于G0、G2、G3和G4(分别为10.3%、11.5%、9.3%和7.3%)和S0、S2、S3和S4(分别为10.8%、13.3%、7.1%、7.4%)患者;肝脂肪变发生率与HBeAg状态及HBV DNA水平无相关关系.多元回归分析显示:体重指数、甘油三酯、载脂蛋白B、尿酸和空腹血糖与CHB患者肝脂肪变的发生密切相关.结论 肝细胞脂肪变在CHB患者中并不少见,其发生主要由患者的代谢因素所致,而与HBV本身无关,肝细胞脂肪变发生与肝脏组织病理损伤程度之间也无明显相关.     

FibroScan在合并肝细胞脂肪变性的慢性乙型肝炎患者肝纤维化诊断中的作用

目的探讨肝脏瞬时弹性成像(FibroScan)在诊断合并肝细胞脂肪变性的慢性乙型肝炎(CHB)患者肝纤维化中的价值。方法选择2009年1月-2011年12月本院行经皮肝穿刺活组织检查的CHB患者418例,分为无肝细胞脂肪变性组(207例)和合并肝细胞脂肪变性组(211例),2组同期行FibroScan等检测,将FibroScan测定值与Ishak评分进行比对,组间比较采用成组t检验、Kruskal-Wallis H检验和Nemenyi检验。计数资料组间比较采用卡方检验。双变量相关性分析采用Spearman等级相关系数法。使用逐步回归的统计学方法从可能影响FibroScan检测结果的多种因素中筛选出有实际意义的影响因素。结果分别对2组内相同肝脏纤维化分期患者的肝硬度值(Stiffness值)进行比较,差异均无统计学意义(P0.05),且Stiffness值均与肝纤维化分期呈显著正相关,无肝细胞脂肪变性组,rs=0.650 35,P0.000 1;合并肝细胞脂肪变性组,rs=0.637 93,P0.000 1。逐步回归统计分析显示,无脂肪变性CHB组,AST、ALT、Alb、TBil、血小板(PLT)对Stiffness值有影响;合并脂肪变性CHB组,影响Stiffness值的因素有PLT、AST、年龄、Alb、体重指数。结论 FibroScan在评估CHB合并肝细胞脂肪变性患者肝脏纤维化程度上具有较好的应用价值。     

Association of chronic hepatitis B virus infection with insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis

Background and Aim: Chronic viral infections such as human immunodeficiency virus and hepatitis C virus (HCV) may decrease tissue response to insulin, thereby causing insulin resistance. In addition, insulin resistance is associated with hepatic steatosis. However, whether these phenomena hold true for chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection remains largely unknown. The present study therefore aimed to investigate the association of chronic HBV infection with insulin resistance and hepatic steatosis. Methods: A total of 507 subjects (243 men and 264 women; mean age 46.56 years) less than 60 years‐old attending a health examination center were enrolled in the study. All the subjects were negative for antibodies against HCV and consumed less than 140 g alcohol/week. Demographic, anthropometric, clinical, and laboratory data were obtained from each subject. Insulin resistance index was determined using homeostasis model assessment (HOMA‐IR). Hepatic steatosis was identified by ultrasound examination. Results: Of the 507 subjects, 50 (9.9%) were positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and designated HBV carriers. All variables were comparable between HBV carriers and non‐HBV carriers, except that HBV carriers had significantly higher serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels (P < 0.05). By multivariate linear regression, HBV carriers were not associated with insulin resistance. In addition, multivariate regression analyses showed that HBV carriers were not associated with the presence of ultrasonographic fatty liver. Conclusions: Chronic HBV infection seems not to be associated with insulin resistance or hepatic steatosis in HBV carriers.     

慢性乙型肝炎重叠非酒精性脂肪肝炎40例临床分析

对慢性乙型肝炎重叠非酒精性脂肪肝炎(NASH)的临床特点进行分析。观察该类患者的症状与病史、血清转氨酶水平、血清乙肝病毒标志物、NASH相关因素、影像学表现。患者多有肝区隐痛,好发于40-50岁的男性;ALT平均117.6U/L,AST平均98.4U/L;HBeAg阳性6例;HBV-DNA阳性8例,平均含量4.1×104copie/ml;多数肥胖,7例患Ⅱ型糖尿病,9例患高脂血症;有脂肪肝的影像学表现。慢性乙型肝炎重叠非酒精性脂肪肝炎的临床特点不同于单纯的非酒精性脂肪肝炎或慢性乙型肝炎。     

Fibrosis evolution in chronic hepatitis B e antigen‐negative patients across a 10‐year interval

The degree of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection influences outcome and management. Existing data describing the long‐term dynamic changes of liver fibrosis are limited. This study aimed to evaluate the evolution of liver fibrosis in CHB across a 10‐year period. CHB patients with liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by transient elastography 10 years ago were recruited for follow‐up LSM. Fibrosis stages were classified according to EASL‐ALEH guidelines. Fibrosis progression/regression was arbitrarily defined as ≥1 fibrosis stage change from baseline. A total of 459 hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)‐negative patients (224 untreated, 235 treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues [NAs]) were recruited. The mean age at baseline LSM was 41.7 ± 9.0 years (56.2% male). Over 10 years, the proportion of patients with advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis significantly reduced from 16.3% to 5.7% (P < 0.001). Fibrosis progression and regression were observed in 8.7% and 37.5%, respectively. No treatment with NAs (OR 2.259, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.032‐4.945), metabolic syndrome (OR 4.379, 95% CI: 1.128‐16.999) and hepatic steatosis (OR 7.799, 95% CI: 2.271‐26.776) was associated with fibrosis progression. Liver stiffness decline demonstrated positive correlation with the time after HBsAg seroclearance (r = ?0.50, P < 0.001). Median liver stiffness was higher both at baseline (14.0 vs 6 kPa, P < 0.001) and 10 years (9.1 vs 4.9 kPa, P < 0.001) in patients with cirrhosis‐related complications/hepatocellular carcinoma compared with those without. In conclusion, CHB‐related liver fibrosis changed dynamically across 10 years. Metabolic syndrome and hepatic steatosis were associated with fibrosis progression, while antiviral therapy was associated with fibrosis regression. Patients with HBsAg seroclearance demonstrated time‐dependent decline in liver stiffness.     

不同中医证型慢性乙型肝炎轻度患者肝组织病理研究

目的：研究不同中医证型的慢性乙型肝炎（CHB）轻度患者肝组织病理特点,并探讨其临床意义。方法：将310例CHB轻度患者进行中医辨证分型,采用Menshini法1秒钟经皮肝穿取肝组织进行炎症和纤维化程度判断,并与车祸死亡正常人作对照,同时荧光定量PCR法检测患者血清HBVDNA水平。结果：①肝组织炎症≥G2、肝纤维化≥S2等级的患者年龄明显高于肝组织炎症〈G2、肝纤维化〈S2等级的年龄;②各中医证型患者肝组织炎症级别≥G2的比率明显高于正常组,但证型间比较差异均无显著性意义;③各中医证型患者肝组织纤维化程度≥S2的比率明显高于正常组,但证型间比较仅肝肾阴虚和脾肾阳虚两型明显高于肝郁脾虚和湿热中阻型;④各中医证型间HBVDNA水平比较,肝肾阴虚和脾肾阳虚两证型明显低于肝郁脾虚型,其他证型之间差异无显著性意义。结论：CHB轻度患者至少有1／3的患者需要抗病毒治疗,而且年龄越大越有必要;在控制肝脏炎症方面,辨证治疗应多加倡导,在抗纤维化治疗方面应重视补肾法研究。     

慢性乙型肝炎患者肝细胞脂肪变性影响因素的分类树模型分析

目的基于分类树模型对慢性乙型肝炎(CHB)患者发生肝细胞脂肪变性的高危人群和影响因素进行研究,建立一种评估CHB患者发生肝细胞脂肪变性风险的简单方法。方法收集2006年1月-2014年12月在佛山市顺德区第一人民医院感染性疾病科住院,行肝穿刺活组织检查的CHB患者的临床资料和病理结果,利用分类树模型分析肝细胞脂肪变性的影响因素,采用索引值曲线、错分矩阵和估计误差对分类树模型分类效果进行整体评价。结果 CHB患者合并肝细胞脂肪变性的影响因素有BMI、总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白,其中最重要的影响因素是BMI。该分类树模型的敏感性为84.3%,特异性为81.5%,准确率为82.9%,模型估计误差为0.171,模型拟合效果较好。结论通过分类树模型发现CHB患者发生肝细胞脂肪变性和BMI、总胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白等3个影响因素关系密切,根据这3个指标可以建立一种简单的分类方法来评估CHB患者发生肝细胞脂肪变性的风险,有必要开展进一步临床研究以明确其临床应用价值。     

Quantitative assessment of fibrosis in liver biopsies from patients with chronic hepatitis B.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Accurate histological assessment of liver fibrosis is essential in the management of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Although semi-quantitative scoring systems describe well the pathological patterns of hepatic structure, they produce fibrosis evaluation that is not very precise. Image analysis or morphometry has the theoretical advantage of providing truly quantitative data. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The present study aimed at validating a new image analysis system, Bioquant Nova Prime, in estimating collagen content in liver biopsy samples from patients with CHB. The biopsies were stained with picrosirius red and the areas of collagen were measured. The results were correlated with laboratory parameters and Ishak modified histological scores. Discriminative reliability of morphometry was determined using receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis. RESULTS: There was excellent interobserver agreement (r=0.84-0.94, P<0.01) in the morphometric analysis. Significant correlations between the quantitative morphometric data and the semi-quantitative score (Spearman's r=0.68-0.78, P<0.001) were also demonstrated. Excellent discriminative power of morphometry in differentiating mild from advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis from absence of cirrhosis was shown by the ROC analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our results validated the use of Bioquant Nova Prime in estimating collagen content in liver biopsies. We showed that morphometry is a sensitive method of liver fibrosis quantification in CHB and complements semi-quantitative histological scoring system. This tool, with its reliable intraassay variability, could be of special value in assessing histological response to treatment after anti-viral or anti-fibrotic therapy.     

Hepatic steatosis in hepatitis B virus infected patients: meta-analysis of risk factors and comparison with hepatitis C infected patients

Background and Aims: Although hepatic steatosis (HS) has an association with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, an association with hepatitis B virus (HBV) is controversial. We performed a meta‐analysis to evaluate HS prevalence and risk factors, in HBV infection. Methods: Standard guidelines for performance of meta‐analyses were followed. Studies with HS assessed by histology were included. Pooled odd ratios (OR) and standardized mean differences (SMD) were obtained with the random‐effects model and DerSimonian‐Laid method. Results: Seventeen out of 21 studies were included, comprising 4100 HBV infected patients. Overall HS prevalence was 29.6%. Eight studies also included 945 HCV infected patients, showing decreased risk of HS in HBV versus HCV patients (OR 0.55, 95%CI [0.45–0.67], P < 0.001). In HBV, HS positively associated with male gender (OR 1.74, 95%CI [1.28–2.38], P < 0.001), body mass index (SMD 2.17, 95%CI [1.23, 3.11], P < 0.001), obesity (OR 6.59, 95%CI [3.51–12.257], P = 0.003), diabetes (OR 2.62, 95%CI [1.37–4.00], P = 0.004), glycemia (SMD 0.84, 95%CI [0.00, 1.67], P = 0.049), triglycerides (SMD 1.18, 95%CI [0.48, 1.89], P = 0.001), cholesterol (SMD 0.88, 95%CI [0.31, 1.45], P = 0.003), moderate alcohol consumption (OR 1.54, 95%CI [1.10–2.15], P = 0.011) and negatively with HBV DNA (SMD ?74.12, 95%CI [?82.93, ?65.31], P < 0.001). HS had no association with aminotransferases, HBeAg, genotype or hepatic histology, necroinflammation or fibrosis. Conclusion: HS in HBV seems to be as frequent as in the general population, and lower than in HCV infected patients, relating to metabolic factors but not with hepatic histology severity. A puzzling strong negative association between viral load and HS, may even suggest a protective effect of the virus on HS.     

Clinical and histological impact of previous hepatitis B virus infection in patients with chronic hepatitis C

Background: Recent reports suggest that hepatitis C virus (HCV) carriers with serological markers of prior hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection have more advanced liver fibrosis, irrespective of HBV‐DNA detection. Aims: We sought to assess the prevalence and impact of previous HBV infection in patients with HCV chronic infection. Methods: This cross‐sectional study included hepatitis B surface antigen‐ and human immunodeficiency virus‐negative subjects with positive HCV‐RNA. All patients had prior parenteral exposure as the probable source of HCV infection. Serum samples were tested for HBV‐DNA using a commercial assay. The METAVIR system was used for histological analysis. Results: One‐hundred and eleven patients were evaluated. Thirty‐one out of 111 patients (28%) tested positive for antihepatitis B core antigen (anti‐HBc). HBV‐DNA was not detected in any sample. Anti‐HBc‐positive patients showed higher histological grading, staging and a higher fibrosis progression rate. By multivariate analysis, anti‐HBc‐positivity was predictive of moderate to severe activity [odds ratio (OR)=3.532; P=0.032] and significant hepatic fibrosis (OR=3.364; P=0.017). After approximately 20 years of infection, advanced liver fibrosis (F3/F4) can be expected in 13% of anti‐HBc‐negative subjects who acquired HCV before the age of 30 and in 57% of those anti‐HBc‐positive patients who were infected by HCV after 30 years of age (P<0.001). Conclusion: Previous HBV infection is common among HCV carriers and may exert a negative impact on the natural history of HCV infection, independently of the presence of significant HBV replication.     

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.