Noninvasive assessment of liver damage in chronic hepatitis B

AIM:To evaluate the efficacy of the aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index(APRI)and neutrophillymphocyte(N/L)ratio to predict liver damage in chronic hepatitis B(CHB).METHODS:We analyzed 89 patients diagnosed with CHB by percutaneous liver biopsy and 43 healthy subjects.Liver biopsy materials were stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson’s trichrome.Patients’fibrosis scores and histological activity index(HAI)were calculated according to the Ishak scoring system.Fibrosis score was recognized as follows:F0-1 No/early-stage fibrosis,F2-6 significant fibrosis,F0-4 non-cirrhotic and F5-6 cirrhotic.Significant liver fibrosis was defined as an Ishak score of≥2.APRI and N/L ratio calculation was made by blood test results.RESULTS:The hepatitis B and control group showed no difference in N/L ratios while there was a significant difference in terms of APRI scores(P<0.001).Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the only independent predictive factor for liver fibrosis in CHB was platelet count.APRI score was significantly higher in cirrhotic patients than in non-cirrhotic patients.However,this significance was not confirmed by multiple logistic regression analysis.The optimum APRI score cut-off point to identify patients with cirrhosis was 1.01with sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value and negative predictive value of 62%(36%-86%),74%(62%-83%),29%(13%-49%)and 92%(82%-97%),respectively.In addition,correlation analyses revealed that N/L ratio has a negative and significant relationship with HAI(r=-0.218,P=0.041).CONCLUSION:N/L ratio was negatively correlated with HAI.APRI score may be useful to exclude cirrhosis in CHB patients.