Screening HIV Patients at Risk for NAFLD Using MRI-PDFF and Transient Elastography: A European Multicenter Prospective Study.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a growing concern in the aging population with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Screening for NAFLD is recommended in patients with metabolic risk factors or unexplained transaminitis. This study aimed to prospectively assess the prevalence and associated factors of liver steatosis and advanced fibrosis (AF) in HIV-monoinfected patients at risk of NAFLD. METHODS: We conducted a multicenter study in HIV-monoinfected patients, nonexcessive drinkers with metabolic syndrome, and/or persistently elevated liver enzymes, and/or clinical lipodystrophy. All participants had magnetic resonance imaging proton density fat fraction (MRI-PDFF), Fibroscan/controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), and cytokine and genetic analysis. RESULTS: From March 2014 to November 2015, we enrolled 442 participants and analyzed 402: male (85%); median age, 55 years (interquartile range [IQR], 50-61 years); body mass index, 27.0 kg/m2 (IQR, 23.6-28.7 kg/m2); metabolic syndrome (67%); and CD4 cell count, 630/mm3 (IQR, 510-832/mm3). Overall 257 of 402 (64%) had NAFLD (MRI-PDFF ≥5%). Among them, 11.3% had a liver stiffness ≥9.6 kPa, suggestive of AF. Multivariable analysis identified 7 factors of steatosis: high CD4-cell count (odds ratio [OR], 4.04; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.92-8.51), high leptin level (OR, 2.12; 95% CI, 1.14-3.93), non-CC PNPLA3s738409 genetic polymorphism (OR, 1.92; 95% CI, 1.11-3.33), low high-density lipoprotein (OR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.03-3.27), high triglycerides (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.18-1.84), elevated alanine transaminase (OR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.16-1.31), and hyper ferritinemia (OR, 1.05; 95% CI, 1.03-1.07). Two factors were associated with AF: high body mass index (OR, 1.23 ; 95% CI, 1.07-1.42 ; P = .005, and elevated aspartate aminotransferase (OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05; P = .001). Using MRI-PDFF as a reference, CAP (best cutoff, 280 dB/m) had good accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve = 0.86; 95% CI, 0.82-0.90) for the diagnosis of moderate to severe steatosis. CONCLUSIONS: In a large cohort of HIV-moninfected patients at risk of NAFLD, steatosis is present in two-thirds of cases, and around 10% have AF. The CAP technique is accurate for screening steatosis in this population.

Diagnostic Accuracy of Noninvasive Markers of Steatosis, NASH, and Liver Fibrosis in HIV-Monoinfected Individuals at Risk of Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD): Results From the ECHAM Study.

BACKGROUND: HIV-monoinfected individuals are at high risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Noninvasive tests of steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and fibrosis have been poorly assessed in this population. Using liver biopsy (LB) as a reference, we assessed the accuracy of noninvasive methods for their respective diagnosis: magnetic resonance imaging proton-density-fat-fraction (MRI-PDFF), FibroScan/controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), and biochemical tests. METHODS: We enrolled antiretroviral therapy-controlled participants with persistently elevated transaminases and/or metabolic syndrome, and/or lipodystrophy. All had hepatic MRI-PDFF, FibroScan/CAP, FibroTest/NashTest/SteatoTest, APRI, FIB-4, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease-fibrosis score. A LB was indicated if suspected significant fibrosis (FibroScan ≥7.1 kPa and/or FibroTest ≥0.49). Performance was considered as good if area under a receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) was >0.80. RESULTS: Among the 140 patients with suspected significant fibrosis out of the 402 eligible patients, 49 had had a LB: median age of 54 years (53-65), body mass index: 26 kg/m (24-30), steatosis in 37 (76%), NASH in 23 (47%), and fibrosis in 31 (63%) patients [F2: 7 (14%); F3: 6 (12%); and F4: 2 (4%)]. Regarding steatosis, MRI-PDFF had excellent and CAP good performances with AUROCs at 0.98 (95% confidence interval: 0.96 to 1.00) and 0.88 (0.76 to 0.99), respectively, whereas the AUROCs of SteatoTest was 0.68 (0.51 to 0.85). Regarding fibrosis (≥F2), APRI and FIB-4 had good performance with AUROCs at 0.86 (0.74 to 0.98) and 0.81 (0.67 to 0.95). By contrast, FibroScan and FibroTest had poor AUROCs [0.61 (0.43 to 0.79) and 0.61 (0.44 to 0.78)], with very low specificity. Regarding NASH, alanine aminotransferase ≥36 IU/L had good performance with AUROCs of 0.83 (0.71 to 0.94), whereas the NashTest had an AUROC of 0.60 (0.44 to 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: In HIV-monoinfected patients, MRI-PDFF and FibroScan/CAP are highly accurate for the diagnosis of steatosis. The alanine aminotransferase level and APRI should be considered for the detection of NASH and fibrosis.