The diagnostic value of non-invasive tests for the evaluation of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients

Noninvasive Models to Assess Liver Inflammation and Fibrosis in Chronic HBV Infected Patients with Normal or Mildly Elevated Alanine Transaminase Levels: Which One Is Most Suitable?

The prevalence of substantial inflammation or fibrosis in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and normal alanine transaminase (ALT) levels is high. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 559 consecutive patients with hepatitis B virus infection, who underwent liver biopsy, to investigate the value of noninvasive models based on routine serum markers for evaluating liver histology in CHB patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT levels and to provide treatment guidance. After comparing 55 models, we identified the top three models that exhibited excellent performance. The APGA model, based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), demonstrated a superior ability to evaluate significant (AUROC = 0.750) and advanced fibrosis (AUROC = 0.832) and demonstrated a good performance in assessing liver inflammation (AUROCs = 0.779 and 0.874 for stages G ≥ 2 and G ≥ 3, respectively). APGA also exhibited significant correlations with liver inflammation and fibrosis stage (correlation coefficients, 0.452 and 0.405, respectively (p < 0.001)). When the patients were stratified into groups based on HBeAg status and ALT level, APGA consistently outperformed the other 54 models. The other top two models, GAPI and XIE, also outperformed models based on other chronic hepatitis diseases. APGA may be the most suitable option for detecting liver fibrosis and inflammation in Chinese patients with CHB.

Routine blood test markers for predicting liver disease post HBV infection: precision pathology and pattern recognition

BACKGROUND

Early stages of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection usually involve inflammation of the liver. Patients with chronic infection have an increased risk of progressive liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and life-threatening clinical complications of end-stage hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

CONTENT

Early diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis and timely clinical management are critical to controlling disease progression and decreasing the burden of end-stage liver cancer. Fibrosis staging, through its current gold standard, liver biopsy, improves patient outcomes, but the clinical procedure is invasive with unpleasant post-procedural complications. Routine blood test markers offer promising diagnostic potential for early detection of liver disease without biopsy. There is a plethora of candidate routine blood test markers that have gone through phases of biomarker validation and have shown great promise, but their current limitations include a predictive ability that is limited to only a few stages of fibrosis. However, the advent of machine learning, notably pattern recognition, presents an opportunity to refine blood-based non-invasive models of hepatic fibrosis in the future.

SUMMARY

In this review, we highlight the current landscape of routine blood-based non-invasive models of hepatic fibrosis, and appraise the potential application of machine learning (pattern recognition) algorithms to refining these models and optimising clinical predictions of HBV-associated liver disease.

OUTLOOK

Machine learning via pattern recognition algorithms takes data analytics to a new realm, and offers the opportunity for enhanced multi-marker fibrosis stage prediction using pathology profile that leverages information across patient routine blood tests.

Increased preoperative aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index predicts complications following total shoulder arthroplasty

Background

This study investigates the association between aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), a noninvasive measure of liver function, and 30-day postoperative complications following total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA).

Methods

The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was queried for all patients who underwent TSA between 2015 and 2021. The study population was divided into 4 groups based on preoperative APRI: normal/reference (APRI ≤ 0.5), mild fibrosis (0.5 < APRI ≤ 0.7), significant fibrosis (0.7 < APRI ≤ 1), and cirrhosis (APRI > 1). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the connection between preoperative APRI and postoperative complications.

Results

Compared to the reference group, significant fibrosis was independently associated with a greater likelihood of major complications (odds ratio [OR]: 1.82, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.11-2.99; P = .017), minor complications (OR: 2.70, 95% CI: 1.67-4.37; P < .001), pneumonia (OR: 5.78, 95% CI: 2.58-12.95; P < .001), blood transfusions (OR: 2.89, 95% CI: 1.57-5.32; P < .001), readmission (OR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.10-3.21; P = .022), and non-home discharge (OR: 1.83, 95% CI: 1.23-2.73; P = .003). Cirrhosis was independently associated with a greater likelihood of minor complications (OR: 3.96, 95% CI: 2.67-5.88; P < .001), blood transfusions (OR: 5.85, 95% CI: 3.79-9.03; P < .001), failure to wean off a ventilator (OR: 9.10, 95% CI: 1.98-41.82; P = .005), and non-home discharge (OR: 2.06, 95% CI: 1.43-2.96; P < .001).

Conclusion

Increasing preoperative APRI was associated with an increasing rate of postoperative complications following TSA.

How effective are APRI, FIB-4, FIB-5 scores in predicting liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients?

Liver fibrosis is the most important factor in the prognosis and treatment plan of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB-4), and fibrosis index based on 5 factors (FIB-5) scores are noninvasive fibrosis markers, and previous comparative studies have shown that they are as effective as liver biopsy in detecting liver fibrosis in different liver diseases. The aim of our study is to investigate whether existing scoring systems are effective in demonstrating fibrosis in CHB patients and to compare the APRI, FIB 4, and FIB 5 scores in differentiating early and advanced fibrosis in 123 patients who underwent liver biopsy for CHB infection. APRI, FIB-4, and FIB-5 scores of patients who underwent liver biopsy due to CHB were calculated by means of calculators and recorded to be compared with liver biopsies in terms of fibrosis scoring. One hundred twenty-three patients who underwent liver biopsy due to chronic hepatitis B were included in the study. APRI (area under the receiver-operating characteristic [ROC] curve 0.728), FIB-4 (area under the ROC curve 0.693) and FIB-5 (area under the ROC curve 0.643) scores were evaluated as significant predictors of advanced fibrosis. The scoring system with the highest positive and negative predictive value was evaluated as FIB-4. APRI, FIB-4, and FIB-5 scoring systems are appropriate scoring systems in the assessment of advanced fibrosis in patients with CHB. Our study is the first to compare APRI, FIB-4, and FIB-5 values in CHB patients, and more comprehensive studies are needed.

Development and evaluation of a novel noninvasive index for predicting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Development of noninvasive liver fibrosis indexes has been research of interest due to the limitations of liver biopsy. Therefore, we aimed to develop and evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a novel noninvasive index for predicting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection based on age and routine clinical laboratory tests.

METHODS

A total of 396 treatment naïve liver biopsy performed patients were divided into training (n = 262) and validation cohorts (n = 134). Histological staging was assessed by Ishak fibrosis scoring system.

RESULTS

In training cohort, we developed a novel fibrosis index, GAPI, using γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), age, platelet, and international normalized ratio (INR) results. The diagnostic accuracies of alanine aminotransferase ratio, age platelet index, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index, GGT to platelet ratio index, AST to lymphocyte ratio index, fibrosis index based on the four factors, Fibro Q, Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index, King's score, Pohl score, Wang I, fibrosis index, fibrosis cirrhosis index, cirrhosis discriminant score, Lok score, Doha score, Mehdi's model, GqHBsAg, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio, RDW to lymphocyte ratio, RDW to platelet ratio, GGT/INR, GGT/albumin, white blood cell/platelet distribution width (PDW), mean platelet volume/PDW and platelet/PDW indexes were compared to GAPI index. For the prediction of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) of GAPI index were 0.776, 0.868, and 0.885 in training cohort, and 0.731, 0.883, and 0.919 in validation cohort, respectively. The AUROCs of the GAPI index were higher than those of the evaluated 27 noninvasive indexes to predict significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis.

CONCLUSION

In resource limited settings, GAPI is a promising noninvasive liver fibrosis index for predicting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, and for decreasing the need for liver biopsy in patients with CHB infection using cutoff points of 2.00 and 3.50.

Comparison of two-dimensional shear wave elastography, magnetic resonance elastography, and three serum markers for diagnosing fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Two-dimensional shear wave elastography (2D-SWE), magnetic resonance elastography (MRE), aspartate transaminase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB-4), and King's score have been proposed for diagnosing fibrosis.

METHODS

Literature databases were searched until October 1st, 2020. The summary area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC), the summary diagnostic odds ratios, and the summary sensitivities and specificities were used to assess the performance of these noninvasive methods for staging fibrosis.

RESULTS

Our final data contained 72 studies. The prevalence of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis was 58.3%, 36.2%, and 20.5%, respectively, in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). For 2D-SWE and MRE, the summary AUROCs were 0.89 and 0.97, 0.95 and 0.97, and 0.94 and 0.97 for significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis, respectively. The summary AUROCs using APRI and FIB-4 for detecting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis were 0.76 and 0.75, 0.74 and 0.77, and 0.77 and 0.82, respectively. The summary AUROCs of King's score for detecting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis were 0.77 and 0.83, respectively.

CONCLUSION

MRE and 2D-SWE may show the best diagnostic accuracy for predicting fibrosis in CHB. Among the three serum markers, King's score may be more useful for diagnosing fibrosis.

Evaluation of Chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) as a noninvasive biomarker of hepatic fibrosis in patients with Hepatitis B virus-related compensated chronic liver disease

Background:

Liver biopsy is the gold-standard method for diagnosing and staging liver fibrosis, but the procedure is invasive, not available in the primary health care facilities, and not free from complications. Noninvasive serum biomarkers of hepatic fibrosis are the current research focus.

Objectives:

To assess the correlation between serum Chitinase 3-like 1 (CHI3L1) levels and histological severity in patients with Hepatitis B Virus (HBV)-related compensated chronic liver disease (CLD).

Material and Methods:

This cross-sectional study evaluated 50 treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B with compensated CLD. Liver biopsy was done, and hepatic fibrosis was categorized using the METAVIR scoring system; we divided the study subjects into three groups; group 1 included subjects with F0 and F1, group 2 having F2 group 3 having F3 and F4. Serum CHI3L1 was measured in all by immunoassay.

Result:

Among 50 patients, only one had METAVIR score F0, seven had F1, 33 had F2, nine had F3, and none had METAVIR score F4. The median value of CHI3L1 was 460.8 (IQR 340.1-570.3) in all study subjects; 359.5 (IQR 272.8-526.9) in group 1, 450.0 (IQR 307.75-5332.0) in group 2, and 1355.5 (IQR 530.75-1580.5) in the group 3. The difference in median CHI3L1 across the groups was statistically significant. Serum aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and the AST to Platelet Ratio Index (APRI) score had significant positive correlations with CHI3L1 levels. CHI3L1 also had significant positive correlations with METAVIR scores.

Conclusion:

This study found a positive correlation between serum CHI3L1 level and hepatic histological severity in patients with HBV-related compensated CLD. Further larger-scale research is needed to establish the fact.

Predictive value of noninvasive indices in chronic hepatitis B virus-related fibrosis

OBJECTIVES

Despite being an invasive method, liver biopsy followed by pathological grading remains the gold standard in evaluating liver fibrosis resulting from chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. The present study aims to evaluate the utility of biochemical parameters and their derived indices in predicting development of fibrosis related to HBV infection.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Pathology results and biochemical parameters of patients who underwent liver biopsy were retrieved from electronic archive records dated 2010-2019 and evaluated retrospectively. Pathological fibrosis grading was performed as per Ishak scoring, with scores of 1-2 considered as mild fibrosis and 3-6 as advanced fibrosis.

RESULTS

The mean age of 302 patients was 37.69 ± 11.33 years. Of the 302 patients, 230 (76.2%) had mild fibrosis and 72 (23.8%) had advanced fibrosis. Age-platelet index, aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index, fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), modified fibrosis-4, platelets count, aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio/platelet ratio index, Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index and King's score were markedly and significantly higher in patients with advanced fibrosis than those with mild fibrosis. FIB-4, age-platelet index and King's score had higher (>80%) area under the curve values than other indices in the receiver operating characteristics analysis. Evaluation of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of these indices with the specified cut-off values revealed 87% sensitivity with FIB-4, 70% specificity with King's score and 72% accuracy with the age-platelet index.

CONCLUSION

In this study, the highest rates of sensitivity, specificity and accuracy in distinguishing and predicting liver fibrosis were observed with the noninvasive indices FIB-4, King's score and the age-platelet index, respectively.

Review of Serum Biomarkers and Models Derived from Them in HBV-Related Liver Diseases

A series of predictive scoring systems is available for stratifying the severity of conditions and assessing the prognosis in patients with HBV-related liver diseases. We show nine of the most popular serum biomarkers and their models (i.e., serum cystatin C, homocysteine, C-reactive protein, C-reactive protein to albumin ratio, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index, fibrosis index based on four factors, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio, albumin-bilirubin score, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to albumin ratio) that have gained great interest from clinicians. Compared with traditional scoring systems, these serum biomarkers and their models are easily acquired, simple, and relatively inexpensive. In the present review, we summarize the latest studies focused on these serum biomarkers and their models as diagnostic and prognostic indexes in HBV-related liver diseases.

Haematologic indices in hepatitis B virus-related liver disease

Several markers and prognostic scores have been identified for predicting the development and progression of liver disease; among them, haematological parameters (the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR), platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), red cell distribution width (RDW), RDW to platelet ratio (RPR), mean platelet volume (MPV), and mean corpuscular volume (MCV)) have recently gained significant interest. Compared with traditional prognostic factors, haematological indices are easy to obtain and relatively inexpensive. There is growing evidence that these haematological indices play a key role in HBV-related liver diseases and has been proposed as a predictive marker of adverse outcomes in these patients. This article focuses on discussing the diagnostic and prognostic value of the haematological indices in patients with HBV-related liver diseases.

Performance of common imaging techniques vs serum biomarkers in assessing fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B: A systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND

Noninvasive biomarkers have been developed to predict hepatitis B virus (HBV) related fibrosis owing to the significant limitations of liver biopsy. Both serum biomarkers and imaging techniques have shown promising results and may improve the evaluation of liver fibrosis. However, most of the previous studies focused on the diagnostic effects of various imaging techniques on fibrosis in all chronic liver diseases.

AIM

To compare the performance of common imaging methods and serum biomarkers for prediction of significant fibrosis caused only by HBV infection.

METHODS

A systematic review was conducted on the records available in PubMed, EMBASE, and the Cochrane Library electronic databases until December 2018. We systematically assessed the effectiveness of two serum biomarkers and three imagine techniques in predicting significant fibrosis solely caused by HBV infection. The serum biomarkers included aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis index based on the 4 factors (FIB-4). The three imaging techniques included acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI), FibroScan, and magnetic resonance elastography (MRE). Three parameters, the area under the summary receiver operating characteristic curve (AUSROC), the summary diagnostic odds ratio, and the summary sensitivity and specificity, were used to examine the accuracy of all tests for liver fibrosis.

RESULTS

Out of 2831 articles evaluated for eligibility, 204 satisfied the predetermined inclusion criteria for this current meta-analysis. Eventually, our final data contained 81 studies. The AUSROCs of serum biomarkers of APRI and FIB-4 were both 0.75. For imaging techniques (ARFI, FibroScan, and MRE), the areas were 0.89, 0.83, and 0.97, respectively. The heterogeneities of ARFI and FibroScan were statistically significant (I² > 50%). The publication bias was not observed in any of the serum biomarkers or imaging methods.

CONCLUSION

These five methods have attained an acceptable level of diagnostic accuracy. Imaging techniques, MRE in particular, demonstrate significant advantages in accurately predicting HBV-related significant fibrosis, while serum biomarkers are admissible methods.

Applicability of liver stiffness measurement based nomograms to the assessments of hepatitis B related significant fibrosis and cirrhosis

BACKGROUND

We evaluated liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and mildly raised alanine transaminase (ALT) activities between 1-2 times the upper limit of normal (ULN) which was near the threshold for initiating treatment.

METHODS

Nomogram-Fibrosis and Nomogram-Cirrhosis were elaborated with variables independently associated with significant fibrosis and cirrhosis determined by multivariate logistic regression. Calibration, receiver operator characteristic (ROC) and decision curves were applied to comparing nomograms with aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to platelet count (PLT) ratio index (APRI), age-AST-PLT-ALT index (FIB-4) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM).

RESULTS

The Nomogram-Fibrosis was constructed with LSM, PLT, and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). Nomogram-Cirrhosis contained one more variable of age other than Nomogram-Fibrosis. The calibration demonstrated that the assessments of significant fibrosis or cirrhosis by nomograms were in line with liver biopsy. The AUROC of Nomogram-Fibrosis was 0.788, lager than APRI (0.586), FIB-4 (0.656) and LSM (0.735). The AUROC of Nomogram-Cirrhosis was 0.889, larger than APRI (0.642), FIB-4 (0.725) and LSM (0.837). Furthermore, the decision curve analysis suggested the most net benefits were provided by the nomograms.

CONCLUSIONS

Nomogram-Fibrosis and Nomogram-Cirrhosis could be promising tools for recognizing significant fibrosis and cirrhosis for CHB patients with mild raised ALT activities.

Validation and comparison of seventeen noninvasive models for evaluating liver fibrosis in Chinese hepatitis B patients

BACKGROUND & AIMS

To avoid liver biopsy, many noninvasive models comprised of serum markers for liver fibrosis assessment have been developed. Given that most of them were developed in hepatitis C cohorts and few of them have been validated in Chinese hepatitis B patients, we aim to conduct this validation and compare their diagnostic accuracies in such a population.

METHODS

A total of 937 HBV-infected patients who underwent liver biopsy were included in this single-centre retrospective study. The diagnostic accuracies of the 17 noninvasive models were assessed by areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUROCs), using histologically evaluated fibrotic stages of the biopsy specimens as standards. To compare efficiencies of the models, a grading system based on AUROC levels was developed.

RESULTS

For discriminating significant fibrosis in all patients, the best three noninvasive models were King's score (AUROC = 0.756), Virahep-C model (AUROC = 0.756) and GPR (AUROC = 0.744); and for diagnosing cirrhosis, Lok index (AUROC = 0.832), FI (AUROC = 0.820) and FIB-4 (AUROC = 0.818) got the first three places. AUROCs in HBeAg-positive group were generally higher than those in HBeAg-negative group. In addition, based on the grading system, Virahep-C and GPR outstood others in evaluating liver fibrosis in all patients.

CONCLUSIONS

In Chinese HBV-infected patients, Virahep-C models and GPR had high accuracies in diagnosing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, while the most discussed models like APRI and FIB-4 did not outstand. Assessment should take into account the HBeAg sero-status, since these noninvasive models were more appropriate for HBeAg-positive patients than HBeAg-negative ones.

Diagnostic value of FIB-4 for liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B: a meta-analysis of diagnostic test

This study is aimed at evaluating the diagnostic value of FIB-4 for liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B through a meta-analysis of diagnostic test. We conducted a comprehensive search in the Pubmed, Embase, Web of Science, and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure before October 31, 2016. Stata 14.0 software was used for calculation and statistical analyses. We used the sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative likelihood ratio (PLR, NLR), diagnostic odds ratio (DOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to evaluate the diagnostic value of FIB-4 for liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B. Twenty-six studies were included in the final analyses, with a total of 8274 individuals. The pooled parameters are calculated from all studies: sensitivity of 0.69 (95%CI:0.63-0.75), specificity of 0.81 (95%CI: 0.73-0.87), PLR of 3.63 (95%CI:2.66-4.94), NLR of 0.38 (95%CI:0.32-0.44), DOR of 9.57 (95%CI: 6.67-13.74), and area under the curve (AUC) of 0.80 (95%CI: 0.76-0.83). We also conducted subgroup based on the range of cut-off values. Results from subgroup analysis showed that cut-off was the source of heterogeneity in the present study. The sensitivity and specificity of cut-off>2 were 0.69 and 0.95 with the AUC of 0.90 (95%CI: 0.87-0.92). The overall diagnostic value of FIB-4 is not very high for liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B. However, the diagnostic value is affected by the cut-off value. FIB-4 has relatively high diagnostic value for detecting liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B when the diagnostic threshold value is more than 2.0.

Fibrosis assessment in patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection

Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of liver morbidity and mortality worldwide. While a proportion of the 250 million individuals chronically infected with HBV will not come to significant harm or require therapy, many others risk developing complications of the end-stage liver disease such as decompensated cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), without intervention. Due to the complex natural history of HBV infection, patients require an expert assessment to interpret biochemistry, viral serology and appropriately stage the disease, and to initiate monitoring and/or therapy where indicated. The detection and quantification of liver fibrosis is a key factor for disease management and prognostication for an individual with HBV. The reliance on invasive liver biopsy to stage disease is diminishing with the advent of robust non-invasive blood- and imaging-based algorithms which can reliably stage disease in many cases. These tests are now incorporated into International guidelines for HBV management and relied upon daily to inform clinical judgement. Both blood- and imaging-based approaches have advantages over liver biopsy, including minimal risks, lower cost, better patient acceptance and speed of results, while disadvantages include lower diagnostic accuracy in intermediate disease stages and variability with co-existing hepatic inflammation or steatosis. This review outlines the methods of fibrosis assessment in chronic HBV infection and focuses on the most commonly used blood- and imaging-based non-invasive tests, reviewing their diagnostic performance and applicability to patient care.

Effect of Entecavir and Tenofovir Treatment on Noninvasive Fibrosis Scores: Which One Is Better?

Liver biopsy is the best method for detecting fibrosis grade of the liver in chronic hepatitis B. However, the invasiveness of liver biopsy complicates its routine use in follow-up of treatment. We planned to determine the usage of fibrosis predicting noninvasive scores in the follow-up of the treatment of patients with chronic hepatitis B treated with entecavir or tenofovir. Two hundred twenty-eight patients with hepatitis B with liver biopsy were included in the study. Fibrosis grade was determined by Ishak score. The laboratory data at months 0, 12, and 24 during treatment were collected and noninvasive fibrosis scores (aspartate aminotransferase to alanine aminotransferase ratio [AAR], aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index [APRI], fibrosis index based on the 4 factors [FIB-4] and red cell distribution width to platelet ratio [RPR]) were calculated. Statistically significant increase in all scores and decrease in platelet count were observed as the fibrosis level increased. For differentiation of patients with fibrosis ≥grade 2, the highest sensitivity and specificity rates were shown by APRI score (sensitivity 67%, specificity 69%, and cutoff ≥0.5). FIB-4 was the most successful score for differentiation of patients with fibrosis ≥grade 3 (sensitivity 83%, specificity 74%, and cutoff ≥1.45). A significant decrease in all noninvasive fibrosis scores was observed at months 12 and 24 during treatment with both entecavir and tenofovir (P < 0.001). Among these, only the improvement in APRI score was found better in entecavir group with statistical significance (P < 0.05). APRI score was effective in demonstrating early-stage fibrosis. FIB-4, RPR, and platelet count were better in demonstrating advanced fibrosis. Although noninvasive scores cannot replace liver biopsy for diagnosis, they can be used for monitoring the response to treatment.

Primary biliary cirrhosis degree assessment by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging and hepatic fibrosis indicators

AIM: To evaluate the assessment of primary biliary cirrhosis degree by acoustic radiation force impulse imaging (ARFI) and hepatic fibrosis indicators.

METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients who developed liver cirrhosis secondary to primary biliary cirrhosis were selected as the observation group, with the degree of patient liver cirrhosis graded by Child-Pugh (CP) score. Sixty healthy individuals were selected as the control group. The four indicators of hepatic fibrosis were detected in all research objects, including hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), type III collagen (PC III), and type IV collagen (IV-C). The liver parenchyma hardness value (LS) was then measured by ARFI technique. LS and the four indicators of liver fibrosis (HA, LN, PC III, and IV-C) were observed in different grade CP scores. The diagnostic value of LS and the four indicators of liver fibrosis in determining liver cirrhosis degree with PBC, whether used alone or in combination, were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve.

RESULTS: LS and the four indicators of liver fibrosis within the three classes (A, B, and C) of CP scores in the observation group were higher than in the control group, with C class > B class > A class; the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.01). Although AUC values of LS within the three classes of CP scores were higher than in the four indicators of liver fibrosis, sensitivity and specificity were unstable. The ROC curves of LS combined with the four indicators of liver fibrosis revealed that: AUC and sensitivity in all indicators combined in the A class of CP score were higher than in LS alone, albeit with slightly decreased specificity; AUC and specificity in all indicators combined in the B class of CP score were higher than in LS alone, with unchanged sensitivity; AUC values (0.967), sensitivity (97.4%), and specificity (90%) of all indicators combined in the C class of CP score were higher than in LS alone (0.936, 92.1%, 83.3%).

CONCLUSION: The diagnostic value of PBC cirrhosis degree in liver cirrhosis degree assessment by ARFI combined with the four indicators of serum liver fibrosis is of satisfactory effectiveness and has important clinical application value.

Performance of several simple, noninvasive models for assessing significant liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B

Aim

To compare the performance of several simple, noninvasive models comprising various serum markers in diagnosing significant liver fibrosis in the same sample of patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with the same judgment standard.

Methods

A total of 308 patients with CHB who had undergone liver biopsy, laboratory tests, and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) at the Southwest Hospital, Chongqing, China between March 2010 and April 2014 were retrospectively studied. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and area under ROC curves (AUROCs) were used to analyze the results of the models, which incorporated age-platelet (PLT) index (API model), aspartate transaminase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR model), AST to PLT ratio index (APRI model), γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) to PLT ratio index (GPRI model), GGT-PLT-albumin index (S index model), age-AST-PLT-ALT index (FIB-4 model), and age-AST-PLT-ALT-international normalized ratio index (Fibro-Q model).

Results

The AUROCs of the S index, GPRI, FIB-4, APRI, API, Fibro-Q, AAR, and LSM for predicting significant liver fibrosis were 0.726 (P < 0.001), 0.726 (P < 0.001), 0.621 (P = 0.001), 0.619 (P = 0.001), 0.580 (P = 0.033), 0.569 (P = 0.066), 0.495 (P = 0.886), and 0.757 (P < 0.001), respectively. The S index and GPRI had the highest correlation with histopathological scores (r = 0.373, P < 0.001; r = 0.372, P < 0.001, respectively) and LSM values (r = 0.516, P < 0.001; r = 0.513, P < 0.001, respectively). When LSM was combined with S index and GPRI, the AUROCs were 0.753 (P < 0.001) and 0.746 (P < 0.001), respectively.

Conclusion

S index and GPRI had the best diagnostic performance for significant liver fibrosis and were robust predictors of significant liver fibrosis in patients with CHB for whom transient elastography was unavailable.

AST/ALT ratio is not useful in predicting the degree of fibrosis in chronic viral hepatitis patients

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Noninvasive tests are primarily used for staging hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic liver disease. In clinical practice, serum aminotransferase levels, coagulation parameters, and platelet count have been used to predict whether or not a patient has cirrhosis. In addition, several studies have evaluated the accuracy of combinations (or ratios) of these measures. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between five noninvasive models [AST/ALT ratio (AAR), aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI), Bonacini cirrhosis discriminant score (CDS), age-platelet index (APind), and King's score] and the degree of hepatic fibrosis as determined by biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis B and C.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 380 patients with viral hepatitis (237 with chronic hepatitis B and 143 with chronic hepatitis C) who were seen at our clinic between January 2005 and January 2011 were retrospectively analyzed. The degree of fibrosis was determined using the Ishak score. Patients with a fibrosis score of 0-2 were considered to have low fibrosis and those with a score between 3 and 6 were considered to have high fibrosis. Five noninvasive models were compared between the groups with low and high fibrosis.

RESULTS

There were statistically significant differences between the hepatitis B and C patients with high and low fibrosis with respect to APind (4.49±2.35 vs. 2.41±1.84; P<0.001 in hepatitis B and 4.83±2.25 vs. 2.92±1.88; P<0.001 in hepatitis C), APRI (1.00±1.17 vs. 0.47±0.39; P<0.001 in hepatitis B and 1.01±1.01 vs. 0.41±0.29; P<0.001 in hepatitis C), CDS (4.53±1.90 vs. 3.58±1.30; P<0.001 in hepatitis B and 4.71±2.03 vs. 3.42±1.49; P<0.05 in hepatitis C), and King's score (24.31±3.14 vs. 7.65±6.70; P<0.001 in hepatitis B and 24.82±2.55 vs. 8.33±7.29; P<0.001 in hepatitis C). There were no significant differences in the AAR between the hepatitis B and C patients with high and low fibrosis (0.78±0.31 vs. 0.74±0.34; P=0.082 in hepatitis B and 0.91±0.40 vs. 0.85±0.27; P=0.25 in hepatitis C). The area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of the APind, APRI, CDS, and King's score in the hepatitis B group were 0.767, 0.710, 0.646, and 0.770, respectively; these values were 0.732, 0.763, 0.677, and 0.783, respectively, in the hepatitis C group.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, our data suggest that four of the five noninvasive methods evaluated in this study can be used to predict advanced fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B and C. However, there was no significant relationship between the degree of hepatic fibrosis and the AAR score, indicating that AAR is not useful in estimating the fibrosis stage in hepatitis B and C patients.

A novel non-invasive index using AFP and APTT is associated with liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection: a retrospective cohort study

OBJECTIVE

A liver biopsy is the 'reference standard' for diagnosing and staging liver fibrosis but with many disadvantages. Therefore, developing a non-invasive index for predicting fibrosis is very valuable. We developed and validated a novel non-invasive index for predicting significant fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study.

SETTING

Chronic hepatitis B virus-infected patients were recruited in the Department of Infectious Disease in the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 506 patients were enrolled, and patients were randomly divided into estimation (n=253) and validation (n=253) cohorts.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Chronic hepatitis B virus-infected patients were studied retrospectively using routine parameters. A novel index was developed from an estimation cohort and validated in another cohort. Liver histology was assessed for fibrosis according to the Xi'an Meeting Scoring System. The novel index using α-fetal protein (AFP) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT; denoted AA index) was compared with 10 other indices using receiving operating characteristics curves. Multivariate forward stepwise regression analysis revealed that AFP and APTT were significantly associated with the Xi'an Meeting Scoring System, and were used to calculate the AA index (log index=-9.164+0.114×AFP+0.236×APTT).

RESULTS

The AA index predicted significant fibrosis with an area under the curve of 0.822, exhibited a significantly higher area compared with the other 10 indices in the estimation cohort, and was validated in the validation cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

The AA index can be used to predict significant fibrosis, and may decrease the need for liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis B infection.

The prognostic values of 12 cirrhosis-relative noninvasive models in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma

BACKGROUND

Hepatocellular carcinogenesis is associated with the progression of cirrhosis, and the latter further aggravates tumor development and prognosis. The aim of the study was to investigate the prognostic values of 12 cirrhosis-relative noninvasive models in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

METHODS

We retrospectively analyzed 363 HCC patients who either underwent partial hepatectomy (PH) or received transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TCAE). Preoperative data were collected to calculate these indices using the original formulas. Diagnostic accuracy of these models in detection of cirrhosis was evaluated by area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) analysis. Multivariate analyses were performed to assess the independent prognostic significance of the 12 indicators.

RESULTS

Aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index (APRI) and Goteborg University Cirrhosis Index (GUCI) were found to be significant in discriminating cirrhotic patients from non-cirrhotic individuals. When the indices were expressed as continuous variables, multivariate analyses indicated that APRI and GUCI were independent indices to predict overall survival in patients underwent PH, with a hazard ratio (HR) value 1.04 (p = 0.005) and 1.07 (p = 0.001), respectively. In the cohort of TACE, APRI and GUCI were independently associated with survival as well.

CONCLUSION

Of the 12 indices, APRI and GUCI were relatively accurate predictors of cirrhosis status as well as outcome of HCC. As only a limited study population was enrolled in the current study, larger cohorts are needed to validate our results.

Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B

The goal of this review is to provide a comprehensive picture of the role, clinical applications and future perspectives of the most widely used non-invasive techniques for the evaluation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. During the past decade many non-invasive methods have been developed to reduce the need for liver biopsy in staging fibrosis and to overcome whenever possible its limitations, mainly: invasiveness, costs, low reproducibility, poor acceptance by patients. Elastographic techniques conceived to assess liver stiffness, in particular transient elastography, and the most commonly used biological markers will be assessed against their respective role and limitations in staging hepatic fibrosis. Recent evidence highlights that both liver stiffness and some bio-chemical markers correlate with survival and major clinical end-points such as liver decompensation, development of hepatocellular carcinoma and portal hypertension. Thus the non-invasive techniques here discussed can play a major role in the management of patients with chronic HBV-related hepatitis. Given their prognostic value, transient elastography and some bio-chemical markers can be used to better categorize patients with advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis and assign them to different classes of risk for clinically relevant outcomes. Very recent data indicates that the combined measurements of liver and spleen stiffness enable the reliable prediction of portal hypertension and esophageal varices development.

The diagnostic value of the FIB-4 index for staging hepatitis B-related fibrosis: a meta-analysis

Background

Liver fibrosis stage is an important factor in determining prognosis and need for treatment in patients infected with hepatitis B virus (HBV). Liver biopsies are typically used to assess liver fibrosis; however, noninvasive alternatives such as the FIB-4 index have also been developed.

Aims

To quantify the accuracy of the FIB-4 index in the diagnosis of HBV related fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Methods

A meta-analysis of studies comparing the diagnostic accuracy of the FIB-4 index vs. liver biopsy in HBV-infected patients was performed using studies retrieved from the following databases: PubMed, Ovid, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and the Chinese Biology Medicine disc. A hierarchical summary receiver operating curves model and bivariate model were used to produce summary receiver operating characteristic curves and pooled estimates of sensitivity and specificity. The heterogeneity was explored with meta-regression analysis. Publication bias was detected using Egger’s test and the trim and fill method.

Results

12 studies (N = 1,908) and 10 studies (N = 2,105) were included in the meta-analysis for significant fibrosis and cirrhosis, respectively. For significant fibrosis, the area under the hierarchical summary receiver operating curve (AUHSROC) was 0.78 (95% CI = 0.74–0.81). The recommended cutoff value was between 1.45 and 1.62, and the AUHSROC, summary sensitivity and specificity were 0.78 (95% CI = 0.74–0.81), 0.65 (95% CI = 0.56–0.73) and 0.77 (95% CI = 0.7–0.83), respectively. For cirrhosis, the AUHSROC was 0.89 (95% CI = 0.85–0.91). The recommended cutoff value was between 2.9 and 3.6, and the AUHSROC, summary sensitivity and specificity were 0.96 (95% CI = 0.92–1.00), 0.42 (95% CI = 0.36–0.48) and 0.96 (95% CI = 0.95–0.97), respectively. No publication bias was detected.

Conclusions

The FIB-4 index is valuable for detecting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis in HBV-infected patients, but has suboptimal accuracy in excluding fibrosis and cirrhosis.

An MLP classifier for prediction of HBV-induced liver cirrhosis using routinely available clinical parameters

Background. Liver cirrhosis (LC) is the final stage of most of chronic liver diseases and is almost caused by chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in China. Liver biopsy is the reference method for the evaluation of liver cirrhosis. However, it is an invasive procedure with inherent risk. The aim of this study was to construct a new classifier based on the routine clinical markers for the prediction of HBV-induced LC. Subjects and Methods. We collected routine clinical parameters from 124 LC patients with CHB and 115 with CHB. Training set (n = 120) and test set (n = 119) were built for model construction and evaluation, respectively. Results. We describe a new classifier, MLP, for prediction of LC with CHB. MLP was built with seven routinely available clinical parameters, including age, ALT, AST, PT, PLT, HGB, and RDW. With optimal cutoff, we obtained a sensitivity of 95.2%, a specificity of 84.2%, and an overall accuracy of 89.9% on an independent test set, which were superior to those of FIB-4 and APRI. Conclusions. Our study suggests that the MLP classifier can be implemented for discriminating LC and non-LC cohorts by using machine learning method based on the routine available clinical parameters. It could be used for clinical practice in HBV-induced LC assessment.