Liver inflammation activity in patients with autoimmune hepatitis with normal alanine aminotransferase and immunoglobulin G levels.

Background and aims: Normal serum transaminases and immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels are surrogate markers for hepatic histologic disease activity in autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). This study aimed to evaluate liver inflammation in patients with AIH with normal serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and IgG levels. Methods: Two hundred and five AIH patients who underwent liver biopsy in four medical centers were included. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify risk factors associated with advanced inflammation. Results: One hundred and thirty-one (63.9 %) AIH patients had advanced liver inflammation, and 108 (52.7 %) patients had advanced liver fibrosis. 60.0 % of patients with normal ALT and 51.7 % of patients with normal ALT and IgG had advanced inflammation. However, 76.7 % and 35.0 % of patients with or without advanced fibrosis with normal ALT had advanced inflammation, while the corresponding proportions of advanced inflammation were 78.6 % and 26.7 % in patients with normal ALT and IgG, respectively. Moreover, 81.0 % and 44.8 % of patients with and without cirrhosis with normal ALT had advanced inflammation, while the corresponding proportions were 83.3 % and 29.4 % in patients with normal ALT and IgG, respectively. Red cell distribution width (OR = 1.325, 95%CI 1.045-1.681, P = 0.020) and PT (OR = 1.514, 95%CI 1.138-2.014, P = 0.004) were independent factors associated with advanced inflammation. Conclusions: High proportion of advanced inflammation was found in AIH patients with normal ALT and IgG levels despite without advanced fibrosis. Although using non-invasive methods may contribute to rule out liver fibrosis in AIH patients with normal ALT and IgG levels, liver biopsy is encouraged to assess liver inflammation.

Histological features of chronic hepatitis B patients with normal alanine aminotransferase according to different criteria.

BACKGROUND: The upper limits of normal (ULNs) for alanine aminotransferase (ALT) are different among international guidelines for chronic hepatitis B (CHB). We aimed to investigate the proportion of significant histological disease in Asian patients with CHB with detectable hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA under diverse ALT ULNs. METHODS: Consecutive patients with CHB and detectable HBV DNA who underwent liver biopsy were retrospectively included from four tertiary hospitals. Above grade 2 inflammation and stage 2 fibrosis were defined as significant inflammation and significant fibrosis, respectively. Significant histological disease was defined as above grade 2 inflammation or stage 2 fibrosis. RESULTS: Among the 414 patients with detectable HBV DNA and normal ALT, the proportion of those with significant histological disease was lower (59.7%) according to the ULN for ALT at 30/19 U/L (male/female), while the corresponding proportions were 66.7% and 62.3% according to the ULNs of 40 U/L and 35/25 U/L (male/female), respectively. In patients with detectable HBV DNA and normal ALT levels without significant fibrosis, the proportions of significant inflammation were comparable among different ULNs of ALT at 40 U/L (30.7%), 35/25 U/L (27.3%) and 30/19 U/L (25.0%). The proportion of significant histological disease was significantly lower in patients with normal ALT for 2 determinations at least 6 months apart compared to patients with normal ALT once. CONCLUSIONS: Although a more stringent ALT ULN may reduce the risk of the presence of significant histological disease in patients with detectable HBV DNA, the rates of significant histological disease remain high. Persistently normal ALT levels are more important for excluding patients with CHB with a high probability of significant histological disease.

Development of a machine learning-based model to predict hepatic inflammation in chronic hepatitis B patients with concurrent hepatic steatosis: a cohort study.

Background: With increasingly prevalent coexistence of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) and hepatic steatosis (HS), simple, non-invasive diagnostic methods to accurately assess the severity of hepatic inflammation are needed. We aimed to build a machine learning (ML) based model to detect hepatic inflammation in patients with CHB and concurrent HS. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, retrospective cohort study in China. Treatment-naive CHB patients with biopsy-proven HS between April 2004 and September 2022 were included. The optimal features for model development were selected by SHapley Additive explanations, and an ML algorithm with the best accuracy to diagnose moderate to severe hepatic inflammation (Scheuer's system ≥ G3) was determined and assessed by decision curve analysis (DCA) and calibration curve. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT05766449). Findings: From a pool of 1,787 treatment-naive patients with CHB and HS across eleven hospitals, 689 patients from nine of these hospitals were chosen for the development of the diagnostic model. The remaining two hospitals contributed to two independent external validation cohorts, comprising 509 patients in validation cohort 1 and 589 in validation cohort 2. Eleven features regarding inflammation, hepatic and metabolic functions were identified. The gradient boosting classifier (GBC) model showed the best performance in predicting moderate to severe hepatic inflammation, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.86 (95% CI 0.83-0.88) in the training cohort, and 0.89 (95% CI 0.86-0.92), 0.76 (95% CI 0.73-0.80) in the first and second external validation cohorts, respectively. A publicly accessible web tool was generated for the model. Interpretation: Using simple parameters, the GBC model predicted hepatic inflammation in CHB patients with concurrent HS. It holds promise for guiding clinical management and improving patient outcomes. Funding: This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 82170609, 81970545), Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (Major Project) (No. ZR2020KH006), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (No.BK20231118), Tianjin Key Medical Discipline (Specialty), Construction Project, TJYXZDXK-059B, Tianjin Health Science and Technology Project key discipline special, TJWJ2022XK034, and Research project of Chinese traditional medicine and Chinese traditional medicine combined with Western medicine of Tianjin municipal health and Family Planning Commission (2021022).

NAFLD is associated with less severe liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B: A multi-center, retrospective study.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) may progress to more serious liver diseases and it is often accompanied by non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NAFLD and CHB share risk factors for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, but the influence of NAFLD on fibrosis progression is controversial. This retrospective study evaluated the prevalence of NAFLD in patients with CHB and investigated associations between NAFLD and liver fibrosis in a large multi-center cohort of hepatitis B patients submitted to liver biopsy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Treatment-naïve patients with CHB who underwent liver biopsy were analyzed. Propensity score matching (PSM) was performed to adjust the confounders between patients with and without NAFLD. RESULTS: A total of 1496 CHB patients were included. Two hundred and ninety (19.4%) patients were diagnosed with NAFLD by liver biopsy. The proportions of significant liver fibrosis (52.8% vs. 63.9%, P<0.001), advanced liver fibrosis (27.2% vs. 36.5%, P=0.003), and cirrhosis (13.4% vs. 19.7%, P=0.013) was considerably lower in CHB patients with NAFLD compared to those without NAFLD. 273 patients were included in each group after PSM adjusted for age, sex, hepatitis B envelope antigen status, and hepatitis B virus DNA. Liver fibrosis remained less severe in CHB patients with NAFLD than those without NAFLD (P<0.05) after PSM. The presence of NAFLD was considered an independent negative factor of significant liver fibrosis (odds ratio (OR) 0.692, P=0.013) and advanced liver fibrosis (OR 0.533, P = 0.002) in CHB patients. CONCLUSIONS: NAFLD is not uncommon in CHB patients with the prevalence of 19.4%. The presence of NAFLD is associated with less severe liver fibrosis in CHB patients. OF THE STUDY/TRIAL: NCT03097952.

Noninvasive diagnosis of significant liver inflammation in patients with chronic hepatitis B in the indeterminate phase.

The presence of significant liver inflammation is an important indication for antiviral treatment in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in the indeterminate phase. We aimed to establish a non-invasive nomogram to predict significant liver inflammation in these patients. A total of 195 CHB patients in the indeterminate phase were randomly split into training and validation sets. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and logistic regression were applied to identify risk factors and establish a predictive model. A calibration curve, decision curve analysis (DCA), and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were applied to assess the performance of the nomogram. The median age was 42.0 y and 59.5% of the patients were male. Alkaline phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transpeptidase, and prothrombin time were independent predictors for significant liver inflammation and selected to establish the AGP-nomogram. The calibration plot demonstrated that the predicted results matched the actual values. The DCA showed a high net benefit when the threshold probability was 25-83% in the training set and 31-100% in the validation set. The areas under ROC curves of AGP-nomogram in predicting significant inflammation were significantly higher than ALT in the training set (0.744 vs. 0.642, P = 0.049) and validation set (0.766 vs. 0.660, P = 0.047). The ability of AGP-nomogram in predicting advanced inflammation was also superior to ALT. The AGP-nomogram can accurately identify significant inflammation in CHB patients in the indeterminate phase, and its application may reduce the need for liver biopsy and help identify candidates for antiviral treatment.Abbreviations: AASLD: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases; ALB: albumin; ALP: alkaline phosphatase; ALT: alanine aminotransferase; APRI: aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index; AST: aspartate aminotransferase; AUROC: area under the receiver operating characteristic curve; CHB: chronic hepatitis B; CI: confidence interval; DCA: decision curve analysis; FIB-4: fibrosis index based on the four factors; GLB: globulin; GGT: γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; HBcAb: hepatitis B core antibody; HBeAg: hepatitis B e antigen; HBsAg: hepatitis B surface antigen; HBV: hepatitis B virus; HCC: hepatocellular carcinoma; HIV: human immunodeficiency virus; INR: international-normalized ratio; IQR: interquartile range; LASSO: least absolute shrinkage and selection operator; LB: liver biopsy; LR: Likelihood ratio; NAFLD: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NPV: negative predictive value; PLT: platelets; PPV: positive predictive value; PT: prothrombin time; ROC: receiver operating characteristic; TB: total bilirubin; TE: transient elastography; ULN: upper limit of normal.

Baseline albumin-bilirubin score: a predictor for HBeAg clearance in patients with chronic hepatitis B after nucleos(t)ide analogue treatment.

BACKGROUND: Serum biomarkers for predicting HBeAg clearance in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus infection during antiviral therapy remain lacking. This study aimed to investigate baseline albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) score for assessing HBeAg clearance in HBeAg-positive CHB patients treated with nucleos(t)ide analogues (NAs). METHODS: Six hundred and ninety-nine HBeAg-positive CHB patients treated with first-line NAs were retrospectively included. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to compare the possibility of HBeAg clearance and HBeAg seroconversion in different ALBI groups. Cox regression models were used to identify factors associated with HBeAg clearance and HBeAg seroconversion. RESULTS: Of the patients, 69.8% were male, with a median age of 36.0 years. 174 (24.9%) patients achieved HBeAg clearance after a median of 92.0 (interquartile range 48.0-134.0) weeks of antiviral treatment and 108 (15.5%) patients achieved HBeAg seroconversion. 74.0% and 26.0% of patients were classified as ALBI grade 1 and ALBI grade 2-3, respectively. ALBI grade 2-3 was identified as an independent predictor of HBeAg clearance (hazard ratio 1.570, 95% confidence interval 1.071-2.301, P  = 0.021). The cumulative incidence of HBeAg clearance and HBeAg seroconversion was significantly higher in ALBI grade 2-3 group than group of ALBI grade 1 ( P  < 0.001). Similar results were observed in different subgroups with different antiviral drugs, cirrhosis status, and ALT levels. CONCLUSION: Baseline ALBI score may be a valuable indicator for predicting antiviral response in HBeAg-positive CHB patients treated with NAs.

A novel non-invasive model for the prediction of advanced liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B patients with NAFLD.

There are still lack of non-invasive models to evaluate liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We aimed to establish a predictive model for advanced fibrosis in these patients. A total of 504 treatment-naive CHB patients with NAFLD who underwent liver biopsy were enrolled and randomly divided into a training set (n = 336) and a validation set (n = 168). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to compare predicting accuracy for the different models. One hundred fifty-six patients (31.0%) had advanced fibrosis. In the training set, platelet, prothrombin time, type 2 diabetes, HBeAg positivity and globulin were significantly associated with advanced fibrosis by multivariable analysis. A predictive model namely PPDHG for advanced fibrosis was developed based on these parameters. The areas under the ROC curve (AUROC) of PPDHG with an optimal cut-off value of -0.980 in predicting advanced fibrosis was 0.817 (95% confidence interval 0.772 to 0.862), with a sensitivity of 81.82% and a specificity of 66.81%. The predicting accuracy of PPDHG for advanced fibrosis was significantly superior to AST to platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) and NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS). Further analysis revealed that the AUROC of PPDHG remained significantly higher than FIB-4 and NFS indexes, while it was comparable with APRI for predicting advanced fibrosis in the validation set. PPDHG had a better predicting performance than established models for advanced fibrosis in CHB patients with NAFLD. The application of PPDHG can reduce the necessary for liver biopsy in these patients.

Significant histological disease of patients with chronic hepatitis B virus infection in the grey zone.

BACKGROUND: Many patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) do not meet the definitions of the traditional natural phases and are classified as being in the grey zone (GZ). AIMS: To investigate liver histology, and to establish a management strategy for patients with CHB in the GZ. METHODS: This study included 1043 patients with CHB who underwent liver biopsy. Phases of natural history were determined according to the AASLD 2018 hepatitis B guidance. CHB patients in the GZ were divided into HBeAg-positive, normal ALT and HBV DNA ≤106  IU/ml (GZ-A); HBeAg-positive, elevated ALT and HBV DNA ≤2 × 104  IU/ml (GZ-B); HBeAg-negative, normal ALT and HBV DNA ≥2 × 103  IU/ml (GZ-C) and HBeAg-negative, elevated ALT and HBV DNA ≤2 × 103  IU/ml (GZ-D). Significant histological disease was defined as liver inflammation ≥G2 and/or liver fibrosis ≥S2. RESULTS: Two hundred and forty two (23.2%) patients were in the GZ. Approximately 72.7% had significant histological disease. HBeAg-positive GZ CHB patients had a higher proportion of significant histological disease than HBeAg-negative GZ patients (91.1% vs. 68.5%, p = 0.002). GZ-D (42.6%) was the dominant category, followed by GZ-C (38.8%), GZ-A (10.3%) and GZ-B (8.3%). The highest proportion of significant histological disease was observed patients in GZ-B (100.0%), followed by GZ-A (84.0%), GZ-D (69.9%) and GZ-C (67.0%). Prothrombin time (PT) was an independent risk factor of significant histological disease in the HBeAg-negative GZ. CONCLUSIONS: Over 70% of GZ CHB patients had significant histological disease. We recommend antiviral treatment for HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative GZ CHB patients with high PT.

Association of Coexistent Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Antibody With Severe Liver Fibrosis and Cirrhosis in Treatment-Naive Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B.

Importance: Coexistence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibody against HBsAg (anti-HBs) constitutes an atypical serological profile in chronic hepatitis B virus infection, and the association between coexistent HBsAg and anti-HBs with severe liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains unclear. Objective: To investigate the association of coexistent HBsAg and anti-HBs with severe liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with CHB. Design, Setting, and Participants: Consecutive treatment-naive patients with CHB from 2 medical institutions in China were enrolled between January 10, 2015, and March 31, 2021. Severe liver fibrosis and cirrhosis were identified using the aspartate transaminase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI), the fibrosis index based on 4 factors (FIB-4; factors comprise age, AST level, alanine aminotransferase [ALT] level, and platelet count), transient elastography, or ultrasonography. Data were analyzed from August 1, 2021, to April 15, 2022. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcomes were rates of severe liver fibrosis and cirrhosis among patients with vs patients without coexistant HBsAg and anti-HBs. Severe liver fibrosis was defined as an APRI score of 1.5 or higher, a FIB-4 score of 3.25 or higher, or a liver stiffness measurement of 8 kPa or higher; cirrhosis was defined as an APRI score of 2.0 or higher, a FIB-4 score of 6.5 or higher, a liver stiffness measurement of 11 kPa or higher, or ultrasonographic findings suggestive of cirrhosis. Results: Of 6534 enrolled patients, 4033 patients (61.7%) were male, and the median (IQR) age was 41.0 (33.0-52.0) years. A total of 277 patients (4.2%) had coexistent HBsAg and anti-HBs. Patients with vs without anti-HBs were older (median [IQR], 46.0 [33.0-55.5] years vs 41.0 [33.0-52.0] years) and had a higher proportion of hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) positivity (123 of 277 patients [44.4%] vs 2115 of 6257 patients [33.8%]; P < .001), higher ALT levels (median [IQR], 45.1 [24.6-119.0] U/L vs 36.7 [22.0-77.0] U/L; P = .001) and AST levels (median [IQR], 35.0 [23.5-68.4] U/L vs 28.3 [21.6-51.0] U/L; P < .001), and lower platelet counts (median [IQR], 173.0 × 103/µL [129.0-212.5 × 103/µL] vs 185.0 × 103/µL [141.0-224.0 × 103/µL]; P = .004), albumin levels (median [IQR], 4.37 [4.11-4.56] g/dL vs 4.43 [4.17-4.61] g/dL; P = .02), and HBsAg levels (median [IQR], 2.8 log10 [1.6-3.4 log10] IU/mL vs 3.3 log10 [2.6-3.9 log10] IU/mL; P < .001). Compared with patients without anti-HBs, those with anti-HBs had higher APRI scores (median [IQR], 0.5 [0.3-1.4] vs 0.4 [0.3-0.9]; P < .001), FIB-4 scores (median [IQR], 1.4 [0.9-2.6] vs 1.1 [0.7-2.1]; P < .001), and liver stiffness values (median [IQR], 7.5 [6.2-9.8] kPa vs 6.3 [5.2-8.1] kPa; P = .003). Patients with anti-HBs also had higher proportions of severe liver fibrosis (102 of 277 patients [36.8%] vs 1397 of 6207 patients [22.5%]; P < .001) and cirrhosis (87 of 277 patients [31.4%] vs 1194 of 6213 patients [19.2%]; P < .001) compared with patients without anti-HBs. The coexistence of HBsAg and anti-HBs was independently associated with severe liver fibrosis (odds ratio [OR], 2.29; 95% CI, 1.56-3.38; P < .001) and cirrhosis (OR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.12-2.68; P = .01) in the multivariate analysis. However, the association of coexistent HBsAg and anti-HBs with cirrhosis was only observed in patients with HBeAg negativity (OR, 1.66; 95% CI, 1.05-2.62; P = .03) and not in patients with HBeAg positivity (OR, 1.45; 95% CI, 0.87-2.43; P = .16). Conclusions and Relevance: In this cross-sectional study, the coexistence of HBsAg and anti-HBs was unusual in hepatitis B virus infection and was associated with more advanced liver diseases, such as severe liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, especially among patients with HBeAg negativity. These results suggest that close monitoring for liver fibrosis and cirrhosis is warranted in patients with CHB who have this serological profile.

Gamma-glutamyl Transpeptidase to Platelet Ratio Predicts Liver Injury in Hepatitis B e Antigen-negative Chronic Hepatitis B Patients With Normal Alanine Aminotransferase.

Background and Aims: Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a serious health problem worldwide. Evaluating liver injury in patients with hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with detectable HBV DNA and normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is crucial to guide their clinical management. We aimed to investigate the stages of liver inflammation and fibrosis as well as the predictive accuracy of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR) in these patients. Methods: A total of 184 treatment-naïve HBeAg-negative CHB patients with detectable HBV DNA and normal ALT were enrolled. The Scheuer scoring system was used to classify liver inflammation and fibrosis. Results: The distribution of patients with different liver inflammation grades were as follows: G0, 0 (0%); G1, 97 (52.7%); G2, 68 (37.0%); G3, 12 (6.5%); and G4, 7 (3.8%). The distribution of patients with different liver fibrosis stages were as follows: S0, 22 (12.0%); S1, 72 (39.1%); S2, 42 (22.8%); S3, 19 (10.3%); and S4, 29 (15.8%). The areas under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curves of GPR in predicting significant inflammation, severe inflammation, and advanced inflammation were 0.723, 0.895, and 0.952, respectively. The accuracy of GPR was significantly superior to that of ALT in predicting liver inflammation. The AUROCs of GPR in predicting significant fibrosis, severe fibrosis, and cirrhosis were 0.691, 0.780, and 0.803, respectively. The predictive accuracy of GPR was significantly higher than that of aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis index based on four factors (FIB-4) in identifying advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, and it was superior to FIB-4 but comparable to APRI in identifying significant fibrosis. Conclusions: Nearly half of the HBeAg-negative CHB patients with detectable HBV DNA and normal ALT levels had significant liver inflammation or fibrosis. GPR can serve as an accurate predictor of liver inflammation and fibrosis in these patients.

Association of anti-HBc and liver inflammation in HBeAg-negative chronic hepatitis B virus-infected patients with normal ALT and detectable HBV DNA.

Serum hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc) is associated with liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B patients. This study aimed to investigate whether anti-HBc could serve as a predictor of significant liver inflammation in hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-negative chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infected patients with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and detectable HBV DNA. Treatment-naïve HBeAg-negative chronic HBV infected patients with normal ALT and detectable HBV DNA who underwent liver biopsy were retrospectively included from two medical centers. Liver inflammation grade was evaluated using the Scheuer scoring system and significant liver inflammation was defined as ≥G2. Serum anti-HBc levels were measured by commercial immunoassays (Abbott GmbH & Co. KG). A total of 117 patients were included and 50 (42.7%) patients showed significant liver inflammation. Serum anti-HBc levels in patients with significant liver inflammation were significantly higher than patients with no or mild liver inflammation (

Presence of Liver Inflammation in Asian Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B With Normal ALT and Detectable HBV DNA in Absence of Liver Fibrosis.

Liver biopsies are recommended to exclude significant liver inflammation in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) with elevated HBV DNA but without other indications for antiviral treatment. We aimed to investigate the proportions and determinants of significant inflammation in Asian patients with CHB with detectable HBV DNA. We conducted a cross-sectional study that retrospectively included 581 patients with CHB with detectable HBV DNA who had undergone liver biopsy. Liver inflammation and fibrosis were staged by Scheuer's classification. Significant inflammation and significant fibrosis were defined as G ≥ 2 and S ≥ 2, respectively. There were 179 (30.8%) patients with alanine aminotransferase (ALT) < 1 × upper limit of normal (ULN), 205 (35.3%) patients with ALT 1-2 × ULN, and 197 (33.9%) patients with ALT > 2 × ULN. A total of 397 (68.3%) patients had significant inflammation, and 340 (58.5%) patients had significant fibrosis. Significant inflammation was found in 85% of patients with significant fibrosis and in 44.8% of patients without significant fibrosis. Furthermore, 28.7% of patients with CHB with detectable HBV DNA and normal ALT in the absence of significant fibrosis had significant inflammation. Moderate HBV DNA (5-7 log10 IU/mL) was a risk factor for significant inflammation (odds ratio [OR] 6.929, 95% confidence interval [CI] 2.830-16.966, P < 0.001) in patients with CHB with detectable HBV DNA, especially for patients with detectable HBV DNA and normal ALT in the absence of significant fibrosis (adjusted OR 13.161, 95% CI 1.026-168.889, P = 0.048). Conclusion: A high proportion of CHB patients with detectable HBV DNA and normal ALT in the absence of significant fibrosis have significant liver inflammation. Liver biopsies are recommended to evaluate liver inflammation in such patients, especially for those with moderate HBV DNA.

Red cell distribution width to platelet ratio predicts liver fibrosis in patients with autoimmune hepatitis.

Noninvasive tests for the assessment of liver fibrosis are highly needed for the management of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). We aimed to investigate the accuracy of red cell distribution width to platelet ratio (RPR) in predicting liver fibrosis in AIH patients. One hundred nineteen AIH patients who underwent liver biopsy were enrolled. Liver fibrosis stage was diagnosed using the Scheuer scoring system. The diagnostic accuracy was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). RPR values in AIH patients with S2-S4 (0.10, interquartile range [IQR] 0.08-0.15), S3-S4 (0.10, IQR 0.09-0.14), and S4 (0.14, IQR 0.09-0.19) were significantly higher than patients with S0-S1 (0.07, IQR 0.06-0.08, P < .001), S0-S2 (0.08, IQR 0.06-0.12, P = .025) and S0-S3 (0.09, IQR 0.07-0.13, P = .014), respectively. The RPR was positively correlated with fibrosis stages (r = 0.412, P < .001), while aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) were not significantly associated with fibrosis stages in AIH patients. The AUROCs of RPR in identifying significant fibrosis (S2-S4), advanced fibrosis (S3-S4), and cirrhosis (S4) were 0.780 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.696-0.865), 0.639 (95% CI 0.530-0.748), and 0.724 (95% CI 0.570-0.878), respectively. The AUROCs of RPR were significantly higher than APRI and FIB-4 in diagnosing significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis, and cirrhosis. Our study demonstrates that the RPR is a simple predictor of liver fibrosis and is superior to APRI and FIB-4 in identifying liver fibrosis in AIH patients.

The gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio predicts liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B with normal or mildly elevated alanine transaminase.

BACKGROUND: The gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) to platelet ratio (GPR) was proposed as a novel index for predicting liver inflammation in chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. We aimed to investigate GPR for predicting significant liver inflammation in CHB patients with normal (≤1×upper limit of normal, ULN) or mildly elevated (≤2×ULN) alanine transaminase (ALT). METHODS AND METHODS: 431 treatment-naïve CHB patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT who underwent liver biopsy were enrolled. Comparision of GPR and other parameters for significant liver inflammation (G≥3). RESULTS: For patients with ALT≤2×ULN, the receiver-operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) of GPR in predicting significant liver inflammation were 0.837 (95%CI 0.796 to 0.878), 0.860 (95%CI 0.809 to 0.910) and 0.809 (95%CI 0.739 to 0.878) in the entire patients, HBeAg positive and HBeAg negative CHB patients, respectively. The diagnostic performance of GPR was higher than ALT (P<0.001, P<0.001, respectively), aspartate transaminase (AST) (P=0.001, P=0.003, respectively) and GGT (P=0.002, P=0.002, respectively) in the entire and HBeAg positive patients, but was comparable with AST (P=0.096) and GGT (P=0.273) in the HBeAg negative CHB patients. For patients with ALT≤1×ULN, the diagnostic accuracy of GPR was significantly higher than ALT, AST and GGT in the entire (P<0.001, P=0.008 and P=0.043, respectively) and HBeAg positive CHB patients (P<0.001, P=0.009 and P=0.024, respectively), while was comparable to AST (P=0.209) and GGT(P=0.555) in the HBeAg negative CHB patients. CONCLUSION: GPR has a better diagnostic value than conventional parameters to predict significant liver inflammation in CHB patients with normal or mildly elevated ALT levels, especially for HBeAg positive CHB.

Plateletcrit as a potential index for predicting liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B.

Noninvasive tests (NITs) for liver fibrosis are highly needed for chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients. We aimed to investigate whether plateletcrit (PCT) could be used as a NIT in predicting liver fibrosis for CHB patients. Five hundred and sixty-seven treatment-naïve CHB patients with available liver biopsies were included. Patients were randomly divided into a derivation cohort (n = 378) and a validation cohort (n = 189). The diagnostic accuracy of PCT was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. In the derivation cohort, PCT in CHB patients with S2-S4 (0.14%), S3-S4 (0.13%) and S4 (0.12%) was lower than patients with S0-S1 (0.17%, P < .001), S0-S2 (0.17%, P < .001) and S0-S3 (0.16%, P < .001), respectively. PCT was an independent predictor of significant fibrosis (≥S2), advanced fibrosis (≥S3) and cirrhosis (S4). The area under the ROC curve (AUROC) of PCT in predicting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis was 0.645, 0.709 and 0.714, respectively. The AUROC of PCT was higher than the aspartate transaminase to platelet ratio index (APRI) in identifying advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, while this was comparable with APRI in identifying significant fibrosis. The diagnostic value of PCT was comparable with fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) in predicting significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. In the validation cohort, PCT could also identify significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis with similar diagnostic accuracy as in the derivation cohort. PCT represents a simple and inexpensive indictor for liver fibrosis in CHB patients. PCT is just as good or better than other more complex tools for staging liver fibrosis in CHB patients.

HBeAg Negativity Is Associated With More Advanced Liver Fibrosis in Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B: A Propensity Score-Matching Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Serum hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) status is associated with the progression of chronic hepatitis B (CHB). The authors aimed to investigate the relationship between HBeAg status and liver pathology in CHB patients. METHODS: A total of 683 treatment-naive CHB patients who had undergone liver biopsy were retrospectively enrolled from 2 medical centers. Propensity score-matching (PSM) method was performed to adjust the imbalance of baseline confounders between HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative CHB patients. RESULTS: HBeAg-negative CHB patients (n=338) exhibited more advanced liver fibrosis than HBeAg-positive CHB patients (n=345) before PSM (P<0.001). However, there were no significant differences in the distribution of inflammation grades between HBeAg-positive and HBeAg-negative CHB patients (P=0.051). Of these 683 CHB patients, 123 patients were included in each group after PSM. HBeAg-negative CHB patients still showed significantly advanced liver fibrosis as compared with HBeAg-positive CHB patients (P=0.03) after PSM. Furthermore, the distribution of liver inflammation grades in the HBeAg-negative CHB patients was also more severe than patients with HBeAg-positive (P=0.037). HBeAg-negative status was identified as an independent risk factor of significant liver fibrosis (P=0.011) by multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: HBeAg negativity is associated with more advanced liver fibrosis in CHB patients.

The Easy Liver Fibrosis Test (eLIFT) for predicting advanced liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

OBJECTIVE: The easy liver fibrosis test (eLIFT) is a novel index to assess advanced liver fibrosis in chronic liver diseases. We aimed to investigate the diagnostic accuracy of eLIFT for advanced liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS: A total of 294 CHB patients with liver biopsy were enrolled. The diagnostic accuracy of eLIFT for advanced liver fibrosis was evaluated and compared to aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4), gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR), and red cell distribution width-to-platelet ratio (RPR) by ROC curves. RESULTS: The area under ROC curves (AUROCs) of eLIFT in predicting advanced fibrosis were 0.687 (95%CI 0.621 to 0.753), 0.714 (95%CI 0.631 to 0.798), and 0.633 (95%CI 0.522 to 0.744) in the entire cohort of CHB patients, HBeAg positive CHB patients, and HBeAg negative CHB patients, respectively. The optimal cut-off values of eLIFT for predicting advanced fibrosis in these three groups were 9.5. The eLIFT, as an easy-to-use scoring system, was comparable with APRI, FIB-4, GPR, and RPR in identifying advanced fibrosis in both HBeAg positive CHB and HBeAg negative CHB patients. CONCLUSIONS: eLIFT as a novel index can predict advanced liver fibrosis with a moderate sensitivity and accuracy in CHB patients. eLIFT, though having similar diagnostic values of advanced liver fibrosis compared to more complex existing tools such as APRI, FIB-4, GPR, and RPR in CHB patients, has the advantage of clarity of generation and ease of application and has the potential of being widely used by hepatologists.

A novel predictive model using routinely clinical parameters to predict liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.

OBJECTIVES: Noninvasive models have been established for the assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB). However, the predictive performance of these established models remains inconclusive. We aimed to develop a novel predictive model for liver fibrosis in CHB based on routinely clinical parameters. RESULTS: Platelets(PLT), the standard deviation of red blood cell distribution width(RDW-SD), alkaline phosphatase(ALP) and globulin were independent predictors of significant fibrosis by multivariable analysis. Based on these parameters, a new predictive model namely APRG(ALP/PLT/RDW-SD/globulin) was proposed. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curves(AUROCs) of APRG index in predicting significant fibrosis(≥F2), advanced fibrosis(≥F3) and liver cirrhosis(≥F4) were 0.757(95%CI 0.699 to 0.816), 0.763(95%CI 0.711 to 0.816) and 0.781(95%CI 0.728 to 0.835), respectively. The AUROCs of the APRG were significantly higher than that of aspartate transaminase(AST) to PLT ratio index(APRI), RDW to PLT ratio(RPR) and AST to alanine aminotransferase ratio(AAR) to predict significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. The AUROCs of the APRG were also significantly higher than fibrosis-4 score (FIB-4) (0.723, 95%CI 0.663 to 0.783) for cirrhosis(P=0.034) and better than gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase(GGT) to PLT ratio(GPR) (0.657, 95%CI 0.590 to 0.724) for significant fibrosis(P=0.001). MATERIALS AND METHODS: 308 CHB patients who underwent liver biopsy were enrolled. The diagnostic values of the APRG for liver fibrosis with other noninvasive models were compared. CONCLUSIONS: The APRG has a better diagnostic value than conventionally predictive models to assess liver fibrosis in CHB patients. The application of APRG may reduce the need for liver biopsy in CHB patients in clinical practice.

Gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase to platelet ratio is not superior to APRI,FIB-4 and RPR for diagnosing liver fibrosis in CHB patients in China.

The gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase to platelet ratio (GPR) is a novel index to estimate liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Few studies compared diagnostic accuracy of GPR with other non-invasive fibrosis tests based on blood parameters. We analyzed diagnostic values of GPR for detecting liver fibrosis and compared diagnostic performances of GPR with APRI (aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index), FIB-4 (fibrosis index based on the four factors), NLR (neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio), AAR (aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase ratio) and RPR (red cell distribution width-to-platelet ratio) in HBeAg positive CHB and HBeAg negative CHB. We found AUROCs of GPR in predicting significant liver fibrosis, advanced liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis were 0.732 (95% CI 0.663 to 0.801), 0.788 (95% CI 0.729 to 0.847) and 0.753 (95% CI 0.692 to 0.814), respectively. Further comparisons showed the diagnostic performance of GPR was not significantly different with APRI, FIB-4 and RPR in identifying significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis, but it was significantly superior to AAR and NLR in both HBeAg positive CHB and HBeAg negative CHB. In conclusion, GPR does not show advantages than APRI, FIB-4 and RPR in identifying significant liver fibrosis, advanced liver fibrosis and liver cirrhosis in both HBeAg positive CHB and HBeAg negative CHB in China.