scholarly journals Advanced Liver Fibrosis Is Common in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Followed in the Outpatient Setting: The Need for Systematic Screening

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina Lomonaco ◽  
Eddison Godinez Leiva ◽  
Fernando Bril ◽  
Sulav Shrestha ◽  
Lydia Mansour ◽  
...  

<b>Objective:</b> Assess the prevalence of NAFLD and of liver fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in unselected patients with T2DM. <p><b>Research Design and Methods:</b> 561 patients with T2DM (age: 60±11; BMI: 33.4±6.2 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; HbA1c: 7.5±1.8%) attending primary care or endocrinology outpatient clinics and unaware of having NAFLD. At the visit, volunteers were invited to be screened by elastography for steatosis and fibrosis by CAP (≥274 dB/m) and LSM (≥7.0 kPa), respectively. Secondary causes of liver disease were ruled out. Diagnostic panels for prediction of advanced fibrosis, such as APRI and FIB-4, were also measured. A liver biopsy was performed if results were suggestive of fibrosis.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> The prevalence of steatosis was 70% and of fibrosis 21% (LSM≥7.0 kPa). Moderate fibrosis (F2: LSM≥8.2 kPa) was present in 6% and severe fibrosis or cirrhosis (F3-4: LSM≥9.7 kPa) in 9%, similar to that estimated by FIB-4 and APRI panels. Non-invasive testing was consistent with liver biopsy results. Elevated AST or ALT ≥40 U/L were present in a minority of patients with steatosis (8% and 13%, respectively) or with liver fibrosis (18% and 28%, respectively). This suggests that AST/ALT alone are insufficient as initial screening. However, performance may be enhanced by imaging (e.g., transient elastography) and plasma diagnostic panels (e.g., FIB-4, APRI).</p> <p><b>Conclusions: </b>Moderate-to-advanced fibrosis (F≥2), an established risk factor for cirrhosis and overall mortality, affects at least one-out-of-six (15%) patients with T2DM. These results support the ADA guidelines to screen for clinically significant fibrosis in patients with T2DM with steatosis or elevated ALT.</p>

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina Lomonaco ◽  
Eddison Godinez Leiva ◽  
Fernando Bril ◽  
Sulav Shrestha ◽  
Lydia Mansour ◽  
...  

<b>Objective:</b> Assess the prevalence of NAFLD and of liver fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in unselected patients with T2DM. <p><b>Research Design and Methods:</b> 561 patients with T2DM (age: 60±11; BMI: 33.4±6.2 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; HbA1c: 7.5±1.8%) attending primary care or endocrinology outpatient clinics and unaware of having NAFLD. At the visit, volunteers were invited to be screened by elastography for steatosis and fibrosis by CAP (≥274 dB/m) and LSM (≥7.0 kPa), respectively. Secondary causes of liver disease were ruled out. Diagnostic panels for prediction of advanced fibrosis, such as APRI and FIB-4, were also measured. A liver biopsy was performed if results were suggestive of fibrosis.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> The prevalence of steatosis was 70% and of fibrosis 21% (LSM≥7.0 kPa). Moderate fibrosis (F2: LSM≥8.2 kPa) was present in 6% and severe fibrosis or cirrhosis (F3-4: LSM≥9.7 kPa) in 9%, similar to that estimated by FIB-4 and APRI panels. Non-invasive testing was consistent with liver biopsy results. Elevated AST or ALT ≥40 U/L were present in a minority of patients with steatosis (8% and 13%, respectively) or with liver fibrosis (18% and 28%, respectively). This suggests that AST/ALT alone are insufficient as initial screening. However, performance may be enhanced by imaging (e.g., transient elastography) and plasma diagnostic panels (e.g., FIB-4, APRI).</p> <p><b>Conclusions: </b>Moderate-to-advanced fibrosis (F≥2), an established risk factor for cirrhosis and overall mortality, affects at least one-out-of-six (15%) patients with T2DM. These results support the ADA guidelines to screen for clinically significant fibrosis in patients with T2DM with steatosis or elevated ALT.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romina Lomonaco ◽  
Eddison Godinez Leiva ◽  
Fernando Bril ◽  
Sulav Shrestha ◽  
Lydia Mansour ◽  
...  

<b>Objective:</b> Assess the prevalence of NAFLD and of liver fibrosis associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) in unselected patients with T2DM. <p><b>Research Design and Methods:</b> 561 patients with T2DM (age: 60±11; BMI: 33.4±6.2 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; HbA1c: 7.5±1.8%) attending primary care or endocrinology outpatient clinics and unaware of having NAFLD. At the visit, volunteers were invited to be screened by elastography for steatosis and fibrosis by CAP (≥274 dB/m) and LSM (≥7.0 kPa), respectively. Secondary causes of liver disease were ruled out. Diagnostic panels for prediction of advanced fibrosis, such as APRI and FIB-4, were also measured. A liver biopsy was performed if results were suggestive of fibrosis.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> The prevalence of steatosis was 70% and of fibrosis 21% (LSM≥7.0 kPa). Moderate fibrosis (F2: LSM≥8.2 kPa) was present in 6% and severe fibrosis or cirrhosis (F3-4: LSM≥9.7 kPa) in 9%, similar to that estimated by FIB-4 and APRI panels. Non-invasive testing was consistent with liver biopsy results. Elevated AST or ALT ≥40 U/L were present in a minority of patients with steatosis (8% and 13%, respectively) or with liver fibrosis (18% and 28%, respectively). This suggests that AST/ALT alone are insufficient as initial screening. However, performance may be enhanced by imaging (e.g., transient elastography) and plasma diagnostic panels (e.g., FIB-4, APRI).</p> <p><b>Conclusions: </b>Moderate-to-advanced fibrosis (F≥2), an established risk factor for cirrhosis and overall mortality, affects at least one-out-of-six (15%) patients with T2DM. These results support the ADA guidelines to screen for clinically significant fibrosis in patients with T2DM with steatosis or elevated ALT.</p>


Viruses ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 255
Author(s):  
Stefania Paolucci ◽  
Antonio Piralla ◽  
Federica Novazzi ◽  
Alice Fratini ◽  
Renato Maserati ◽  
...  

Variations in the interferon sensitivity-determining region (ISDR) within the NS5A region were related to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The aim of the study was to investigate a relationship between ISDR/PKR substitutions and their association with liver fibrosis or HCC development. A total of 316 patients infected with HCV and treated with DAAs were evaluated. HCV RNA was quantified and sequenced before treatment. The liver fibrosis stage was assessed by transient elastography and equalized to METAVIR scores. Multivariate analysis showed that ≥3 substitutions in ISDR and ≥6 in PKR-bd were significantly associated with advanced fibrosis. Advanced fibrosis was observed in patients with higher substitutions in ISDR and PKR-bd. A higher correlation between advanced fibrosis and a high frequency of ≥3 substitutions in ISDR and ≥6 in PKR-bd was observed in patients infected with genotype 2c. In addition, in a higher proportion of HCC patients, advanced fibrosis (40.4% vs. 88.2%; p < 0.001) and ≥6 substitutions in PKR-bd (15.4% vs. 41.2%; p = 0.01) was observed. In conclusion, a higher number of substitutions in ISDR and PKR-bd were associated with advanced liver fibrosis, suggesting a use of like predictors for progression in the liver damage. A significantly higher number of PKR-bd substitutions was observed in HCC patients; in particular, in patients infected with HCV genotype 2c.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Kumar Wadhva ◽  
Muhammad Manzoorul Haque ◽  
Nasir Hassan Luck ◽  
Abbas Ali Tasneem ◽  
Zaigham Abbas ◽  
...  

Abstract Objectives The aim was to assess the diagnostic accuracy of APRI and FIB-4 in assessing the stage of liver fibrosis in end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients with chronic viral hepatitis and to compare the two tests with standard tru-cut liver biopsy. Material and Methods The study was conducted at Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation Karachi (SIUT) from May 2010 to May 2014. All ESRD patients, being considered as candidates for renal transplantation and in whom liver biopsy was performed were included. Fibrosis stage was assessed on liver biopsy using Ishak scoring system. The serum transaminases and platelet counts were used to calculate APRI and FIB-4 scores. Results Out of 109 patients, hepatitis C and B virus infections were present in 104 (95.4%) and 3(2.8%), respectively, while 2 (1.8%) patients had both infections. The mean Ishak fibrosis score was 1.95 ± 2. Advanced fibrosis was noted in 37 (34%) patients. Univariate analysis showed that advanced liver fibrosis was associated with lower platelets counts (P=0.001) and higher aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (P=0.001), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (P=0.022), APRI score (P=0.001) and FIB-4 score (P=0.001). On logistic regression analysis, only APRI score (P < 0.001) was found to be the independent variable associated with advanced liver fibrosis. APRI score cutoff ≥1 indicating advanced fibrosis showed sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of 91.9%, 90.3%, 82.9%, 95.6%, respectively with area under the curve (AUC) of 0.97. Similarly, a FIB-4 score cutoff ≥1.1 had sensitivity, specificity, PPV and NPV of 70.27%, 66.67%, 52% and 81.36%, respectively with AUC of 0.74. Conclusion APRI is more accurate noninvasive test for assessing advanced liver fibrosis in ESRD patients as compared to FIB-4. It can be used to obviate the need for liver biopsy in this high risk population.


Diabetes Care ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. dc201997
Author(s):  
Romina Lomonaco ◽  
Eddison Godinez Leiva ◽  
Fernando Bril ◽  
Sulav Shrestha ◽  
Lydia Mansour ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 170-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvania Klug Pimentel ◽  
Rodrigo Strobel ◽  
Carolina Gomes Gonçalves ◽  
Danielle Giacometti Sakamoto ◽  
Flávio Heuta Ivano ◽  
...  

CONTEXT: Morbidly obese patients have an increased risk for nonalcoholic fat liver disease. Its severe form, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis may cause liver fibrosis. The diagnosis of advanced fibrosis has great value during the pre operative evaluation for bariatric surgery. Currently, liver biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosis of liver fibrosis. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the nonalcoholic fat liver disease fibrosis score in morbidly obese patients undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in our population. METHODS: One hundred fifty-eight morbidly obese patients that had undergone bariatric surgery were included. Age, body mass index, hyperglycemia, platelet count, albumin and AST/ALT ratio were applied to the score formula. Scores above 0.676 were indicative of advanced liver fibrosis and scores under -1,455 absence of advanced liver fibrosis. These scores were compared to liver biopsy findings. RESULTS: The presence of advanced fibrosis could be diagnosed with good accuracy, with a positive predictive value of 83.7%. The score had a higher accuracy to exclude advanced fibrosis with a negative predictive value of 97%. Twenty-five patients (16%) had scores between the cutoffs points and were identified as indeterminate. The score sensibility and specificity was 83% and 97% respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The nonalcoholic fat liver disease fibrosis score has high accuracy to identify and exclude advanced liver fibrosis in morbidly obese patients subjected to bariatric surgery.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine M. Irvine ◽  
Satomi Okano ◽  
Preya J. Patel ◽  
Leigh U. Horsfall ◽  
Suzanne Williams ◽  
...  

AbstractNon-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects 25% of the adult population globally. Since liver fibrosis is the most important predictor of liver-related complications in patients with NAFLD, identification of patients with advanced fibrosis among at-risk individuals is an important issue in clinical practice. Transient elastography is the best evaluated non-invasive method used in referral centres to assess liver fibrosis, however serum-based tests, such as the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) score, have a practical advantage as first-line tests due to their wider availability and lower cost. We previously identified matrix metalloproteinase 7 (MMP7) as a serum biomarker of histological advanced fibrosis in a mixed-etiology patient cohort. In this study we aimed to determine the association between MMP7 and fibrosis, assessed by transient elastography, in patients with NAFLD. Serum MMP7 levels were measured in a cohort of 228 patients with NAFLD. Associations between MMP7, liver stiffness measurement (LSM), ELF score and clinical parameters were determined using logistic regression modelling. Serum MMP7 was associated with clinically significant fibrosis (LSM ≥ 8.2), independent of age, gender, BMI and diabetes. The addition of MMP7 significantly improved the diagnostic performance of the ELF test, particularly in patients over the age of 60. Combinations of serum biomarkers have the potential to improve the sensitivity and specificity of detection of advanced fibrosis in at-risk patients with NAFLD. We have demonstrated that serum MMP7 is independently associated with clinically significant fibrosis and improves the diagnostic performance of currently available tests in older patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 239-240
Author(s):  
D H Little ◽  
S Fischer ◽  
S K Fung

Abstract Background Accurate assessment of liver fibrosis is important to identify patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who require antiviral therapy. As liver biopsy is invasive and costly, non-invasive tests of liver fibrosis are increasingly being used. Aims We aimed to evaluate the performance of the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), Fibrosis 4 index (FIB-4), and transient elastography (TE) in predicting fibrosis in patients with CHB. Methods We retrospectively analyzed a prospectively enrolled cohort of consecutive adults with CHB who underwent liver biopsy for routine clinical indications (ALT &gt; ULN and HBV DNA &gt; 2,000 IU/ml) from January 2018 to December 2019. Demographic information, routine biochemistry, HBV serology including HBV DNA, abdominal ultrasound, fibrosis stage by liver biopsy and TE data were collected. Positive predictive values (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were calculated using published cut-off values with liver biopsy as the reference standard. Results Fifty-five patients of Asian ethnicity (mean age 46 years, 65% male) were included. Most patients were HBeAg-negative (67%) and treatment-naïve (80%). Eleven (20%) patients had advanced fibrosis (F3-F4 METAVIR) and 4 (7%) patients had cirrhosis (F4). APRI &lt;0.50 had a NPV of 73% for significant fibrosis (F2-F4) and APRI &gt;1.50 had a PPV of 33% for significant. All 4 patients with cirrhosis were misclassified as having no cirrhosis with an APRI &lt;1. FIB-4 &lt;1.45 had a NPV of 90% for advanced fibrosis (F3-F4). No patient, including 11 patients with advanced fibrosis, had a FIB-4 above the cut-off value to detect advanced fibrosis (&gt;3.25). TE data was available for 38 patients. TE &lt;7.25 kPa had a NPV of 78% for significant fibrosis and TE &gt;12.4 kPa had a PPV of 50% for cirrhosis. Conclusions In Asian patients with CHB and a low prevalence of advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, APRI, FIB-4, and TE performed well in excluding those with advanced fibrosis but were unable to accurately identify those with significant/advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Further studies with larger numbers of CHB patients are needed to confirm our results. Funding Agencies None


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiqiang Xu ◽  
Jinfang Zhao ◽  
Jiaye Liu ◽  
Yi Dong ◽  
Fuchuan Wang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of transient elastography (TE) by comparing liver biopsies to assess liver fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods: A total of 157 CHB children aged 0 - 6 years in China were enrolled in this single-center prospective study. All patients underwent liver stiffness measurement (LSM) by TE and liver biopsy at an interval of less than a week. Results: LSM, aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-platelet ratio index (APRI), and fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) positively correlated with activity grade and fibrosis stage in children with CHB. The area under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of LSM for identifying significant (F ≥ 2) and advanced fibrosis (F ≥ 3) were 0.732 and 0.94, the cut-off values were 5.6 kPa and 6.9 kPa, specificity of 75.7% and 91.5%, and sensitivity of 67.4% and 81.3%, respectively. Compared to LSM, the overall diagnostic performance of APRI and FIB-4 for significant and advanced fibrosis was suboptimal with low AUCs and sensitivity. Since LSM, platelet, and Log10HBsAg were independent factors with the fibrosis stages (F < 2 and F ≥ 2) on the liver biopsy, the LPS index was formulated to predict F ≥ 2 by combining LSM, platelet, and Log10HBsAg. The AUC of LPS for F ≥ 2 was increased to 0.792, which was higher than that of LSM (0.732, p < 0.05), with an improved sensitivity (76.6% vs 67.4%).Conclusions: TE represents a promising technology for the diagnosis of advanced fibrosis in CHB children aged 0 - 6 years.


QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed F Montasser ◽  
Eman M Barakat ◽  
Mohamed S Ghazy ◽  
Sara M Abdelhakam ◽  
Hend E Ebada ◽  
...  

Abstract Aim of the work To test the reliability of fibroscan in detection of fibrosis in patients with Budd Chiari syndrome before and after endovascular intervention (after elimination of hepatic congestion). Background transient elastography (TE) is a noninvasive methodology that has been used to monitor liver stiffness in patients with chronic viral hepatitis. One of the limitations for accurate assessment of liver fibrosis by TE is the liver congestion. Liver congestion can result from Budd Chiari syndrome (BCS).The treatment of BCS is through restoring the flow of the blood between the portal vein to the inferior vena cava, which will lead to decongestion of the liver.TE, will be tested after liver decongestion for proper detection of liver fibrosis. Patients and methods This was a prospective cohort study conducted on 25 Egyptian patients with confirmed diagnosis of primary Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS) in the period from June 2017 to September 2019. TE was performed three days before endovascular intervention and three months after it. Liver biopsy was taken during the intervention for assessment of METAVIR score. Comparison was done between TE assessments before and after intervention in detection of the degree of liver fibrosis in comparison to METAVIR score measured in liver biopsy. Results FVLM was the most common hypercoagulable cause in the involved patients. There was significant drop in Liver Stiffness Measurements (LSM) measured three months post-intervention indicating improvement of liver fibrosis after relieving liver congestion but still not correlated to the METAVIR scores measured in the liver biopsy. Conclusion Liver congestion has high impact on Liver stiffness measurement giving overestimation which improves significantly after decongestion of the liver by the endovascular intervention.


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