Abstract
Determining the stage of fibrosis is an essential element of chronic hepatitis C (HCV) management. This study aims to evaluate aminotransferase to platelet ratio (APRI) score in comparison with Vibration-Controlled Transient Elastography (VCTE) for assessing the severity of liver disease in HCV-infected patients. Material and methods: We retrospectively enrolled 293 HCV-infected patients with different stages of fibrosis who achieved sustained virological response (SVR) after direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) therapy, which have been evaluated by VCTE from 1st September 2020 to 30th July 2021. Results: Two hundred and ninety-three patients (72.7% females, mean age of 61.75 ± 10.87 years, and mean BMI of 27.85 ± 4.63 kg/m2) were evaluated. As estimated by VCTE, 44 (15%) of patients were without liver fibrosis (F0), 80 (27.3%) with F1 (mild), 39 (13.3%) with F2 (significant), 43 (14.7%) with F3 (advanced) liver fibrosis, and 87 (29.7%) with F4 (cirrhosis), with a mean value of liver stiffness measurements (LSM) of 10.17 ± 7.42 kPa. The APRI score has a positive correlation with the LSM score (p=0.047), predicting severe liver disease adequately. The optimal receiver operator curve (ROC) for predicting advanced fibrosis was > 1.15 (area under the curve [AUC] 0.79, 95% CI 0.71-0.83; p < 0.001) with a sensitivity (Ss) of 82.5%, specificity (Sp) 28%, a positive predictive value (PPV) of 72%, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 81%. Conclusions: APRI score can predict well the advanced liver fibrosis and cirrhosis and can be a useful non-invasive biochemical marker for resource-limited management of HCV-infected patients.
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