The Appropriate Opportunity for Evaluating Liver Fibrosis by Using the FIB-4 Index in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Japan.

ABSTRACT: In patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), liver fibrosis is the predictive factor for liver-related events and prognosis. This retrospective study aimed to evaluate longitudinal changes in the FIB-4 index and to determine a strategy for diagnosing and following patients with NAFLD using this index. We analyzed the FIB-4 index at baseline and after 1 and 5 years in 272 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD. Of these, 52 patients underwent serial biopsies. The change in the FIB-4 index was correlated with changes in the fibrosis stage among these patients (p = 0.048). The median FIB-4 index was 1.64 at baseline, 1.45 at 1 year, and 1.74 at 5 years. The negative predictive value for advanced fibrosis at a low cutoff point was 90.4/90.1 at baseline/1 year. Its specific

SUBMITTER: Seko Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7603133 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature