Background and Objectives: The indication for treatment in HBsAg-positive patients with low viral load and normal transaminases requires an assessment of fibrosis. In resource-limited settings, free hepatic fibrosis e...Background and Objectives: The indication for treatment in HBsAg-positive patients with low viral load and normal transaminases requires an assessment of fibrosis. In resource-limited settings, free hepatic fibrosis evaluation tests can aid in therapeutic decision-making. Our study aims to demonstrate the utility of assessing hepatic fibrosis using non-invasive markers (APRI and FIB-4) in patients with chronic B viral hepatitis without cytolytic activity and low viral replication in our context. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted between January 2018 and December 2021 at the University Hospital Center of Bouaké. Included were all patients aged ≥18 with normal transaminases (Results: Our study included 241 patients, with a mean age of 36.19 years (±10.52 years) and a male predominance of 52%. The mean FibroScan<sup>®</sup> value was 6.44 ± 2.3 kPa, and 68 patients (28.22%) had fibrosis >7 kPa. To exclude significant fibrosis (FS Conclusion: A significant proportion of HBV-infected patients with normal ALT and low viral load have active liver disease. Both FIB-4 and APRI biological scores are useful in identifying individuals without significant fibrosis with a good negative predictive value (>50%).展开更多
文摘Background and Objectives: The indication for treatment in HBsAg-positive patients with low viral load and normal transaminases requires an assessment of fibrosis. In resource-limited settings, free hepatic fibrosis evaluation tests can aid in therapeutic decision-making. Our study aims to demonstrate the utility of assessing hepatic fibrosis using non-invasive markers (APRI and FIB-4) in patients with chronic B viral hepatitis without cytolytic activity and low viral replication in our context. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted between January 2018 and December 2021 at the University Hospital Center of Bouaké. Included were all patients aged ≥18 with normal transaminases (Results: Our study included 241 patients, with a mean age of 36.19 years (±10.52 years) and a male predominance of 52%. The mean FibroScan<sup>®</sup> value was 6.44 ± 2.3 kPa, and 68 patients (28.22%) had fibrosis >7 kPa. To exclude significant fibrosis (FS Conclusion: A significant proportion of HBV-infected patients with normal ALT and low viral load have active liver disease. Both FIB-4 and APRI biological scores are useful in identifying individuals without significant fibrosis with a good negative predictive value (>50%).
