Noninvasive Fibrosis Markers in Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) whose biopsies show only simple steatosis seem to achieve survival comparable to that in the general population. However, patients whose biopsies reveal nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) have excessively high rates of liver disease complications (JW Gastroenterol Apr 3 2009). Assessing liver fibrosis in NAFLD patients would allow clinicians to identify individuals at risk for advanced liver disease, but this can be accomplished only with liver biopsy.

To try to identify a simple and effective noninvasive marker of fibrosis in NAFLD patients, investigators evaluated the usefulness of the FIB4 index (which was based on age, platelet counts, and AST and ALT serum aminotransferase levels a…