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GOOD CORRELATION BETWEEN LIVER STIFFNESS MEASUREMENT AND APRI, FIB-4, PLATELET COUNT, IN PEDIATRIC AUTOIMMUNE
Lucas Rocha Alvarenga1, Natascha Silva Sandy2,3, Gabriel Hessel1
1Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Departamento de Pediatria, Campinas, SP, Brasil.
Insights
Non-invasive markers like APRI, FIB-4, and platelet count correlate well with transient liver elastography for assessing liver fibrosis in pediatric autoimmune hepatitis patients.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Hepatology
- Non-invasive Diagnostics
Background:
- Limited evidence exists for non-invasive markers in pediatric chronic liver diseases.
- Assessing liver fibrosis in children with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) requires better diagnostic tools.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the correlation between transient liver elastography (TLE) and serum non-invasive markers.
- To assess liver stiffness measurement (LSM) in pediatric AIH patients.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study of 28 pediatric AIH patients (ages 3-20).
- Used transient liver elastography (TLE) and routine serum tests.
- Compared patients with fibrosis (TLE ≥6.45 kPa) vs. without (TLE <6.45 kPa).
Main Results:
- Significant differences in APRI and FIB-4 scores between fibrosis groups (P=0.0306, P=0.0055).
- Strong positive correlations found between TLE and APRI (Rs=0.67) and FIB-4 (Rs=0.78).
- Significant negative correlation between TLE and platelet count (Rs=-0.68).
Conclusions:
- APRI, FIB-4, and platelet count are reliable non-invasive markers.
- These markers show good correlation with TLE for liver fibrosis assessment in pediatric AIH.
Background:
There is limited evidence focusing on the use of non-invasive markers to assess liver fibrosis in pediatric chronic liver diseases.
Objective:
The aim of the study was to evaluate the correlation between liver stiffness measurement (LSM) using transient liver elastography (TLE) and serum non-invasive markers in pediatric autoimmune hepatitis (AIH).
Methods:
Cross-sectional study between May 2016 and February 2020. Twenty-eight children with AIH (age range between 3 and 20 years old) who had undergone TLE and had routine serum tests were enrolled. Patients were divided into 2 groups: (1) Liver fibrosis degree ≥F2 (TLE ≥6.45 kPa) and (2)
Results:
Twenty-eight AIH pediatric patients were enrolled, 21 were female and 22 had AIH type 1. Following the cut-off of 6.45 kPa in TLE, 20 patients (71%) were included in group 1, and 8 in group 2. A statistically significant difference was found between the two groups on APRI and FIB-4 results (P=0.0306 and P=0.0055, respectively). There was a significant correlation between TLE with APRI and FIB-4 (Rs=0.67 and 0.78, respectively; P<0.01) as well as with platelet count (Rs=-0.68; P<0.01).
Conclusion:
APRI, FIB-4 and Platelet Count showed a good and positive correlation with transient liver elastography in pediatric patients with AIH.
