Can Biomarkers Predict Liver Cirrhosis in Chronic Hepatitis C?

Aim To assess the accuracy of simple available laboratory tests (ALT, AST, platelet count, AST /ALT ratio AST to platelet ratio index APRI) in predicting of liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis C, in comparison to the predictiveaccuracy obtained by elastography. Methods Two hundred and sixty five patients suffering from chronic hepatitis C (CHC) were included in this study. They included patients enrolled from the Hepatology Department of University Hospital Center Mother Theresa in Tirana. Fibrosis results obtained from elastography were assigned a score from 0 to 4 score as per METAVIR scoring. Results of serum ALT, AST levels and platelets were expressed as AAR and APRI. Results One hundred and twenty nine (48.7 %) patients showed no evidence of fibrosis on elastography 87 (32.8 %) patients showed fibrosis, and 49 (18.5 %) as cirrhosis. There was a significant correlation between the degree of fibrosis and AST levels, AST/ALT ratio, platelet count and APRI. The AUROC curve for predicting significant cirrhosis was 0.631 for AST levels, 0.342 for platelets, 0.642 for AAR and 0.668 for APRI (p less than0.05). Conclusion In conclusion, the results of our study demonstrate a diagnostic role of AAR and APRI as a simple non-invasive test for diagnosis of liver cirrhosis.