ArticleBMC gastroenterology2025
Diagnostic performance of a new algorithm combining simple, non-invasive and inexpensive tests for predicting the presence of advanced liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B.
Article in BMC gastroenterology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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8 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundNon-invasive methods for scoring fibrosis have been developed to overcome the limitations of liver biopsy. These techniques have not been fully validated for assessing liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B (CHB). This study evaluated the utility of combining new, simple, non-invasive, and inexpensive tests to predict advanced liver fibrosis in CHB patients, assisting primary care physicians, especially in resource-limited settings.
methodsThis prospective cross-sectional study was conducted on consecutive patients from two centers (n = 408 patients, training group) and one other center (n = 194, external validation group) who underwent liver biopsy for CHB. A decision tree was developed using the cohort, with a cost matrix penalizing type II error to predict patients in stages F0-F1, F2 or F3-F4. The final decision tree contains eight leaf nodes and is based on the following five variables: platelet count, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT) levels, and age.
resultsA total of 408 patients were used to develop a decision tree algorithm, which established Decision Rule No. 1 for predicting the risk of advanced fibrosis (F3-F4): if platelets < 185 × 10
conclusionA new algorithm combining simple, non-invasive, and inexpensive tests demonstrates a good diagnostic value in predicting advanced liver fibrosis in patients with CHB or excluding significant fibrosis. These two rules can aid clinical decision-making by optimizing and limiting the use of more complex complementary and therapeutic examinations, particularly when such resources are rare.
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