The NAFLD burden on mortality and morbidities in general population: A community-based longitudinal study (NASH-CO study).

BACKGROUND: The impact of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on morbidity and mortality has yet to be documented at the general population level. This study aimed to assess whether NAFLD was associated with morbidities and mortality and to estimate its impact on health status and mortality. METHODS: The study population consisted of 137 206 participants from Constances cohort. Non-invasive diagnosis of NAFLD and advanced fibrosis was performed using the fatty liver index and Forns index, respectively. Constances data were linked to health care and hospitalization data to identify liver-related events, cardiovascular diseases (CVD), extrahepatic cancers (EHC), chronic kidney disease (CKD) and all-cause mortality. RESULTS: The prevalence of NAFLD was 18.3% in subjects without other chronic liver diseases, among whom 2.7% had fibrosis. NAFLD after IPTW-weighted remained associated with an increased risk of death (HR 1.26, 95% CI 1.01-1.57), hepatic-related complications (HR 2.48, 95% CI 1.99-3.29), CVD (HR 1.42, 95% CI 1.30-1.55), EHC (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01-1.28) and CKD (HR 1.81, 95% CI 1.53-2.07) compared to those without chronic liver diseases risk factors (Non-NAFLD). In the trend analysis over the study period of inclusion and compared to Non-NAFLD, NAFLD has shown a fastest growing cause of hepatic events (HR 1.38, 95% CI 1.07-1.76 per year), CVD (HR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03-1.12), CKD (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.07-1.25), and death (HR 1.39, 95% CI 1.39-1.50). CONCLUSION: This large community-based cohort showed that NAFLD was associated with excess morbidity and mortality and demonstrated a fastest-growing trend.

The burden of NAFLD in type 2 diabetic subjects from the general population: A Nationwide population-based follow-up study (NASHCO).

BACKGROUND: The epidemiology and natural history of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in diabetes have been mainly investigated in the hospital setting. The goal of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of NAFLD and its impact on morbidity and mortality in type 2 diabetic subjects in a community setting. METHOD: This study included 199 341 participants in the nationwide Constances cohort. After patients with excessive alcohol consumption, viral hepatitis or other causes of liver disease were excluded, 164 285 were analysed and 8386 (5.3%) were considered to have type 2 diabetes. The non-invasive diagnosis of NAFLD and advanced fibrosis was made using a combination of the fatty liver index and Forns index. Median follow-up was 2.5 years. RESULTS: Diabetes increased the risk of NAFLD by sixfold (adjusted OR 6.05, 95% CI 5.68-6.45) and the risk of advanced fibrosis by 3.76-fold (aOR 3.76, 95% CI 2.87-4.91) in NAFLD subjects. After controlling for confounders, the presence of NAFLD in diabetic subjects was associated with an increased risk of severe liver-related events (aHR 2.53, 95% CI 1.36-4.69), cardiovascular disease (CVD, aHR 2.71, 95% CI 1.72-4.26) and overall mortality (aHR 2.91, 95% CI 1.53-5.53). The risk of hepatic and extrahepatic complications in diabetic subjects with NAFLD significantly increased with the severity of fibrosis (P < .05). CONCLUSION: This prospective, longitudinal study in a large community-based cohort provides real-world evidence of the risk for NAFLD and advanced fibrosis in diabetes, and its impact on liver disease progression, diabetes-related complications such as CVD, and overall mortality. These data could be used to estimate real clinical and economic burden of NAFLD in diabetic subjects.

Comorbidities Are Associated with Fibrosis in NAFLD Subjects: A Nationwide Study (NASH-CO Study).

BACKGROUND: The relationship between the severity of NAFLD and extra-hepatic events such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), extra-hepatic cancer (EHC) or chronic kidney diseases (CKD) has not been clearly investigated in the general population. AIMS: The aim of this study was to assess whether the severity of fibrosis in NAFLD subjects was associated with extra-hepatic diseases based on noninvasive markers in a large population-based cohort. METHODS: The study population included a cohort of 118,664 participants from the nationwide CONSTANCES cohort. After excluding individuals with excessive alcohol consumption and other causes of liver disease, 102,344 were included. The noninvasive diagnosis of NAFLD and fibrosis was performed using a combination of the Fatty Liver Index (FLI) and the Forns Index. The history of CVD or EHC was recorded by a physician, and CKD was defined by a glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/mn. RESULTS: The prevalence of NAFLD (FLI > 60) was 18.2%, 10% with mild fibrosis (Forns Index < 4.2), 7.7% with intermediate fibrosis (Forns Index 4.2-6.9), and 0.4% with advanced fibrosis (Forns Index > 6.9). The prevalence of CVD, EHC, or CKD increased significantly with the severity of fibrosis (p < 0.0001). When adjusted for demographic, metabolic risk factors, and smoking, NAFLD with intermediate or advanced fibrosis remained associated with CVD (OR 1.36, p < 0.0001 and OR 3.07, p < 0.0001, respectively), EHC (OR 1.24, p = 0.001 and OR 1.64, p = 0.004, respectively), and CKD (OR 1.18, p = 0.03 and OR 2.09, p < 0.0001, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: In a large adult population-based cohort, there is a dose-dependent relationship between the severity of fibrosis and CVD, EHC, or CKD in NAFLD subjects.

Non-invasive fibrosis markers are associated with mortality risk in both general populations and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patients.

AIM: We assessed the correlations between non-invasive fibrosis scores and mortality in both the general population and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) patients. METHODS: We used data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1988-2014. The NAFLD fibrosis score (NFS), Fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4) score, aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) score, and Forns index score were calculated at baseline. The associations of these scores with the risk of mortality were determined using additive Cox proportional hazard models. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) was used to study the predictive capacity of each scoring system. RESULTS: A total of 44 508 participants were included; among them, 9721 deaths occurred during a mean follow-up of 12.5 years. A "J"-shaped correlation pattern was observed for both the FIB-4 and APRI scores. A "U"-shaped correlation pattern was observed for both the Forns index and NFS. Similar correlation patterns were observed in 1955 NAFLD patients. For overall mortality, the AUROC values of the selected fibrosis scores were comparable between general population and NAFLD patients. The superior predictive capacity was found for FIB-4, with AUROC of 75.03% (95% confidence interval, 70.91% to 79.82%) in general population and 75.32% (95% confidence interval, 69.43% to 80.11%) in NAFLD patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Non-linear associations were shown between the fibrosis scoring systems and mortality risk. These scores could serve as indicators for mortality in people with or without NAFLD.

Forns Index is a predictor of cardiopulmonary bypass time and outcomes in Fontan conversion.

Recent reports suggested that cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) time is one of the risk factors for postoperative complications after Fontan conversion. Although Fontan conversion may be performed for the patients with hepatic fibrosis after initial Fontan procedure, there is no predictive indicator regarding the liver function associated with hemostasis which can affects CPB time. Thirty-one patients who underwent Fontan conversion using the same surgical procedure (extracardiac conduit conversion with right atrium exclusion) were enrolled. In multivariate analyses including age at Fontan conversion, interval from initial Fontan to conversion, hemodynamic data such as right atrial pressure, ventricular end-diastolic pressure, and cardiac index, hepatic data such as platelet count, prothrombin time international normalized ratios, serum total bilirubin, hyaluronic acid levels, five known indices for hepatic fibrosis (Forns Index, APRI, FIB4, FibroIndex, and MELD-XI), and liver stiffness measured by ultrasound elastography, only the Forns Index remained independently associated with the CPB time (P < 0.01) and blood transfusions (plasma transfusions and platelet concentrations: P < 0.01 for both). The cutoff level for Forns Index to predict the prolonged CPB time (exceeding 240 min) was 4.85 by receiver-operating characteristic curve (area under the curve 0.823, sensitivity 76.9%, and specificity 72.2%). Three patients with Forns Index > 7.0 had poor outcomes with long CPB time and massive blood transfusions in contrast with the other 28 patients. In conclusion, Forns Index could serve as a practical predictor of CPB time and is associated with blood transfusion volume in Fontan conversion.

Value of Egy-Score in diagnosis of significant, advanced hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis compared to aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index, FIB-4 and Forns' index in chronic hepatitis C virus.

AIM: Serum markers and developed scores are of rising importance in non-invasive diagnosis of hepatic fibrosis. Aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), FIB-4 and Forns' index are validated scores used for diagnosis of liver fibrosis. The Egy-Score is a newly developed score for detection of hepatic fibrosis with promising results. We aimed to assess the accuracy of the Egy-Score in the diagnosis of significant fibrosis, advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis compared to APRI, FIB-4 and Forns' in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients. METHODS: A retrospective study including 100 chronic hepatitis C naïve Egyptian patients was performed. Patients were classified according to stages of fibrosis into three groups: significant fibrosis (≥ F2), advanced fibrosis (≥ F3) and cirrhosis (F4). Egy-Score, APRI, FIB-4 and Forns' index were calculated. Regression analysis and receiver-operator curves were plotted to assess the sensitivity, specificity and predictive values for the significant scores with the best cut-off for diagnosis. RESULTS: An Egy-Score of 3.28 or more was superior to APRI, FIB-4 and Forns' index for detecting advanced fibrosis with a sensitivity of 91% and specificity of 78%. An Egy-Score of 3.67 or more was superior to APRI, FIB-4 and Forns' index for detecting cirrhosis with a sensitivity of 82% and specificity of 87%. Forns' index was superior to Egy-Score, FIB-4 and APRI for detecting significant fibrosis. CONCLUSION: The Egy-Score is a promising, accurate, easily calculated, cost-effective score in the prediction of hepatic fibrosis in chronic HCV patients with superiority over APRI, FIB-4 and Forns' index in advanced hepatic fibrosis and cirrhosis.

Non-invasive fibrosis biomarkers - APRI and Forns - are associated with liver stiffness in HIV-monoinfected patients receiving antiretroviral drugs.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: HIV-monoinfected patients are susceptible to liver injury by different factors and may develop liver fibrosis, which requires adequate clinical management in terms of therapy and disease monitoring. We aimed to evaluate the presence of liver fibrosis identified by transient elastography (TE), its relationships with indirect biochemical markers [the aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index (APRI), the Forns index and FIB-4] and its predictive factors in HIV-monoinfected patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART). METHODS: Seventy-two HIV-monoinfected patients underwent TE and were evaluated using APRI, Forns and FIB-4. The clinical, immunological, virological and other biochemical characteristics were evaluated at the time of TE, together with their history of ART. RESULTS: Seven patients (10%) had liver stiffness (LS) values predicting cirrhosis, and 12 (17%) had values predicting significant or advanced fibrosis. Higher indirect biochemical scores of liver fibrosis were significantly associated with higher LS values [APRI rs  = 0.4296 (P < 0.001); Forns rs  = 0.4754 (P < 0.001); FIB-4 rs  = 0.285 (P = 0.015)]. At multivariable analysis, APRI (ß = 2.7405; P = 0.036), Forns (ß = 1.4174; P = 0.029) and triglyceride levels (ß = 1.3028; P = 0.007) were independently associated with LS. CONCLUSIONS: Indirect fibrosis biomarkers may increase the probability to detect liver injury enhancing a specific diagnostic workup and so contribute to improving the clinical management of HIV-monoinfected patients with clinically suspected liver disease.

Retrospective Evaluation of Non-Invasive Assessment Based on Routine Laboratory Markers for Assessing Advanced Liver Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients.

Background: At present, there is a lack of cheap, effective and convenient detection methods for hepatitis B-related liver fibrosis, especially in the developing area. Aim: To evaluate the non-invasive methods for the significant and advanced fibrosis stage in chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) patients in basic hospitals and to assess their diagnostic utility. Methods: The study included 436 consecutive naive HBV individuals who had their livers biopsied. They were examined in one week using aspartate aminotransferase-to-aspartate aminotransferase ratio (AAR), age-platelet index (API), aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), Forns, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase-to-platelet ratio (GPR), S-index and transient elastography (TE). Scheuer scoring system was used to determine the histologic fibrosis grades (S0-S4). The diagnostic effectiveness was assessed using AUROCs and the DeLong test, both of which were based on statistical comparisons. Results: For both substantial (≧S2) and advanced (≧S3) fibrosis phases, TE had good diagnostic performance in determining the hepatic fibrosis. Similar diagnostic performance was shown with Forns and S-index when it came to detecting fibrosis stages lower than S3. One model's diagnostic value was not significantly improved by combining serum models. Correlation coefficients between clinical features and fibrosis phases were greatest for Forns (r = 0.397), S-index (r = 0.382) and TE (r = 0.535) when compared to other variables. Conclusion: This investigation showed that Forns and S-index may be helpful strategies for detecting advanced fibrosis in HBV patients admitted to community hospitals.

Non-invasive Liver Fibrosis Scores Are Associated With Recurrence of Postoperative Chronic Subdural Hematoma.

Objective: Although liver diseases have already been identified as a risk factor for increased recurrence and mortality in patients with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH), the association between subclinical liver disease, specifically liver fibrosis (LF), and CSDH remains unknown. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the association between the LF scores and CSDH recurrence. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive patients with CSDH who underwent burr-hole irrigation in the First Affiliated Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between January 2015 and December 2018. The clinical data were collected, and the LF scores were calculated including aspartate aminotransferase-platelet ratio index (APRI), fibrosis-4 (FIB-4), and Forns index. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was applied to identify the association between the LF scores and CSDH recurrence, and Cox regression model and Fine-Gray competing risks model were performed to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) for CSDH recurrence based on time-to-event outcomes. The C-statistic, the integrated discrimination improvement (IDI), and the net reclassification improvement (NRI) evaluated the additive value of the LF scores to predict the recurrence of CSDH. Results: A total of 419 patients with CSDH were included, hematoma recurrence was observed in 62 patients (14.80%) within 1 year after surgery. The LF scores were significantly higher in those who recurred, whereas the standard hepatic assays were mostly normal. The patients were assigned to groups of high and low LF scores based on the validated cut-offs; compared with the subjects with low scores, those with high score levels had significantly higher recurrence rates. After adjusting for potential confounders, the LF scores were independently associated with CSDH recurrence, multivariable-adjusted HRs (95% CI) for those with higher levels of APRI, FIB-4, and Forns score were 4.32 (1.37-13.60), 2.56 (1.20-5.43), and 2.02 (1.07-3.79) for the recurrence of CSDH, respectively. Moreover, adding the APRI to the conventional model improved the C-statistic from 0.731 to 0.763, with an NRI and IDI of 7.50 and 1.35%, respectively. Two further commonly-used LF score indices (FIB-4 score and Forns index) yielded comparable results. Conclusions: The data from this study first indicated that the high LF scores were significantly associated with the recurrence of CSDH and that careful follow-up in these patients may be needed.

Diagnostic Accuracy of the Forns Score for Liver Cirrhosis in Patients With Chronic Viral Hepatitis.

Introduction Liver cirrhosis is an irreversible and end-stage disease. It results from chronic liver damage characterized by the replacement of normal liver tissue by fibrosis, leading to the progressive loss of liver function. Making an early diagnosis of cirrhosis is important for patients with chronic hepatitis because early antiviral therapy can prevent the progression of cirrhosis and even induce regression. There have been efforts to develop surrogate markers for liver cirrhosis as the biopsy is invasive, costly, and difficult to standardize. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at the Section of Chemical Pathology, the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine in Collaboration with the Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, the Aga Khan University, from January to December 2018. A total of 90 patients (>18 years of age) with a history of chronic viral hepatitis, who were attending the FibroScan® (Echosens, Paris, France) clinic were included. Patients with a history of autoimmune liver diseases and hepatocellular carcinoma were excluded from the study. Blood samples withdrawn were analyzed on ADVIA Centaur® (Siemens Healthineers, Erlangen, Germany), and Forns scores were calculated based on the following four parameters: patient age, total cholesterol, gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), and platelet count. Results The median age of the patients was 38.5 years [interquartile range (IQR): 21]. Among the study population, 59 (65.6%) were males and 31 (34.4%) were females; 26 patients showed reactivity for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg), and 63 patients were found chronic with hepatitis C virus (HCV). The proportion of HCV was observed to be higher as compared with that of Hepatitis B virus (HBV). Nineteen patients were found to have jaundice and only one patient had ascites. An Area Under the Receiver Operating Curve (AUROC) was generated to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Forns score. It was observed that the Forn score value of >7.110 had an AUROC of 0.9928 (95% CI: 0.9821-1.003, p-value: <0.001) with a sensitivity of 100% (95% CI: 91.19-100.0%) and specificity of 94% (95% CI: 83.45-98.75%), with a higher positive likelihood ratio of 16.67. Conclusion This study found the Forns score to be sensitive and specific in diagnosing liver cirrhosis in patients with chronic hepatitis. The Forns score at a cutoff of 7.11 is highly sensitive as well as a specific noninvasive method that can be used to ascertain the status of fibrosis in chronic hepatitis patients.

Performance of Noninvasive Liver Fibrosis Scores in the Morbid Obese Patient, Same Scores but Different Thresholds.

INTRODUCTION: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common cause of chronic liver disease. It is a spectrum of progressive alterations, with the final step in liver fibrosis which carries a high burden of long-term mortality. The scores used to predict liver fibrosis are not properly validated in morbid obesity (MO). Our aim was to evaluate the performance of seven risk scores in bariatric surgery (BS) patients. METHODS: Cross-sectional analysis in a cohort of 60 patients with MO undergoing BS. Liver biopsy (LB) was taken and compared with fibrosis risk assessed by noninvasive scores: APRI, FIB-4, Forns, NFS (NAFLD fibrosis score), BARD, BAAT, and Hepamet. The area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUROC) and measures of diagnostic accuracy were calculated; performance of fibrosis scores was evaluated at standard threshold vs those suggested by ROC analysis. RESULTS: LB was available in 50 patients; 9 (18%) had significant fibrosis (F2-F4). The BARD and Forns scores best predicted the absence of fibrosis, both with negative predictive value (NPV) of 95.5%, with AUROC of 0.761 and 0.667, respectively. Modification of standard thresholds (2 for BARD and 6.9 for Forns) to those suggested by ROC analysis (3 and 3.6, respectively) improved performance of scores. Basal glucose, glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), aspartate transaminase (AST), and gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) were identified by logistic regression analysis as independent predictor of fibrosis. CONCLUSIONS: Existing scoring systems are unable to stratify fibrosis risk in MO using established thresholds; its performance is improved if these cutoffs are modified.

Combined acoustic radiation force impulse, aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and Forns index assessment for hepatic fibrosis grading in hepatitis B.

AIM: To investigate the combined diagnostic accuracy of acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI), aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index (APRI) and Forns index for a non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). METHODS: In this prospective study, 206 patients had CHB with liver fibrosis stages F0-F4 classified by METAVIR and 40 were healthy volunteers were measured by ARFI, APRI and Forns index separately or combined as indicated. RESULTS: ARFI, APRI or Forns index demonstrated a significant correlation with the histological stage (all P < 0.001). According to the AUROC of ARFI and APRI for evaluating fibrotic stages more than F2, ARFI showed an enhanced diagnostic accuracy than APRI (P < 0.05). The combined measurement of ARFI and APRI exhibited better accuracy than ARFI alone when evaluating ≥ F2 fibrotic stage (Z = 2.77, P = 0.006). Combination of ARFI, APRI and Forns index did not obviously improve the diagnostic accuracy compared to the combination of ARFI and APRI (Z = 0.958, P = 0.338). CONCLUSION: ARFI + APRI showed enhanced diagnostic accuracy than ARFI or APRI alone for significant liver fibrosis and ARFI + APRI + Forns index shows the same effect with ARFI + APRI.

Non invasive assessment of liver fibrosis in chronic hemodialysis patients with viral hepatitis C.

The liver biopsy has long been the "gold standard" for assessing liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C. It's an invasive procedure which is associated with an elevated bleeding, especially in chronic hemodialysis patients. Main goal is to assess liver fibrosis in chronic hemodialysis with HCV by Fibroscan and by biological scores (APRI, Forns and Fib-4), and to measure the correlation between these tests. Cross-sectional study including all chronic hemodialysis patients with hepatitis C virus, in two public hemodialysis centers of Fez. All patients were evaluated for liver fibrosis using noninvasive methods (FibroScan and laboratory tests). Subsequently, the correlation between different tests has been measured. 95 chronic hemodialysis were studied, twenty nine patients (30.5%) with chronic hepatitis C. The average age was 52.38 ± 16.8 years. Nine liver fibrosis cases have been concluded by forns score. Fibroscan has objectified significant fibrosis in 6 cases. On the other side APRI has objectified sgnifivant fibrosis only in 3 cases. The Fib-4 showed severe fibrosis in five cases. The results have been most consistent between APRI and Fib-4, followed by Fibroscan and Forns, then APRI and FibroScan.

Comparison of shear wave velocity with noninvasive serum score systems in diagnosis of liver fibrosis of patients with chronic hepatitis / 中华临床感染病杂志

Objective To evaluate the clinical application of liver shear wave velocity (SWV) in comparison with common serum score systems [AST to platelet ratio index (APRI),Forns,S index and FIB-4] in assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis.Methods A total of 237 chronic hepatitis patients with liver fibrosis confirmed by liver biopsy,who were admitted in Ningbo Second Hospital during October 2010 and April 2013,were enrolled in the study.Liver shear wave velocity were measured by acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI),and the score of APRI,Forns,S index and FIB-4 were calculated based on the measurement of serum markers.Liver fibrosis stages were classified as S0-S4 according to the Scheuer scoring system,and stages ≥ S2 were identified as significant liver fibrosis.The diagnosis value of SWV,4 common score systems and their combination for significant liver fibrosis was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC).Results A significant linear correlation was found between SWV and the stage of fibrosis (r =0.46,P ＜ 0.01).The areas under the ROCs of SWV and 4 common score systems (APRI,Forns,S index and FIB-4) for the diagnosis of significant liver fibrosis were 0.758 (0.696-0.821),0.727 (0.662-0.793),0.777 (0.717-0.836),0.747 (0.684-0.810) and 0.737 (0.673-0.802),respectively.The area under the ROC of the combined prediction nodel established with Logistic regression was 0.810.Conclusion Liver shear wave velocity measured by ARFI is of clinical value in noninvasive assessment of liver fibrosis,and the prediction accuracy can be improved when it is combined with other noninvasive indices.

Four noninvasive score systems for diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B / 中华临床感染病杂志

Objective To assess the value of S index and FIB-4 for diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) by comparing with traditional indexes APRI and Forns.Methods A total of 361 patients with confirmed CHB from the First Hospital of Nanjing Medical University and Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University during January 2006 and December 2011 were enrolled in the study.The clinical,laboratory and pathological data of patients were collected.Four noninvasive score systems APRI,Forns,S index and FIB-4 were computed.With liver biopsy as the gold standard,the area under the ROC curve (AUROC) was used to assess the value of above 4 score systems in diagnosis of liver fibrosis,and Z test was performed to evaluate the effectiveness of above systems.Results The areas under ROC curve (AUCs) of APRI,Forns,S index and FIB-4 for significant fibrosis (≥S2) were (0.737 ±0.027),(0.716 ± 0.028),(0.745 ± 0.026) and (0.781 ± 0.025),respectively.When the cut off value of FIB-4 was set at 1.62,the sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) for diagnosis of significant fibrosis were 59.3％,85.8％,89.4％ and 51.2％,respectively,which were better than Forn index (Z =3.28,P =0.001).While for S4 (cirrhosis) the AUCs of APRI,Foms,S index and FIB-4 were (0.687 ± 0.035),(0.792 ± 0.028),(0.863 ± 0.024) and (0.832 ± 0.025),respectively.When the cut off value of S index was set at 1.06,the sensitivity,specificity,PPV and NPV for diagnosis of cirrhosis were 77.9％,85.5％,59.4％ and 93.5％,respectively,which were better than APRI and Forns (Z =6.74 and 3.21,P ＜ 0.01).Conclusions APRI,Forns,S index and FIB-4 are simple and accurate methods for assessing liver fibrosis.FIB-4 and S index are better than APRI and Forns in diagnosis of significant fibrosis and cirrhosis,which may replace liver biopsy in certain extend.