Pathologic Criteria for NASH: Which Best Predicts Liver-Related Mortality?

Although nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is common in adults in the U.S., only a minority have progressive liver disease related to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Several sets of pathologic criteria are used to diagnose NASH. However, we do not know how well these different criteria correlate with one another and, more important, how well each predicts liver-related mortality.

To address these issues, researchers analyzed data from a database of NAFLD patients with complete clinicopathologic data. All biopsies were reread by two pathologists and categorized according to four different sets of pathologic criteria: (1) Original NALFD subtypes: steatosis alone, steatosis with lobular inflammation only, steatosis with hepatocellul…