Abstract
We aimed to detect the validity of serum ATX as a diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis. Forty-eight males and 16 females were enrolled in the current study. Their ages ranged from 29-57 years with mean of 45.09, all were chronically HCV infected. Laboratory assessment was done for all subjects in form of complete blood picture; liver function test; lipid profile and serum detection of ATX. Patients were grouped according to the stage of fibrosis into group 1: fibrosis score 0, 1, 2, 3; group 2: fibrosis score: 4, 5, 6.The mean values of ATX in all studied patients with chronic HCV infection was 63.02 ± 36.29 while that of healthy controls was 65.31 ± 12.24 without any significant difference. Surprisingly, mean values of ATX were higher among patients with group 1 but it did not reach the significant level. In each group of them, the differences between mean values of ATX among different grades of liver fibrosis were insignificant. It was also noticed that the mean values of ATX were higher among men than in women .It was concluded that Autotoxin might not be used as a useful diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis in Egyptian chronic HCV patients.
Highlights
The published Egyptian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) in 2009 was a national probability sample of the resident Egyptian population
It was found that ATX is not a diagnostic marker for liver fibrosis among studied patients with chronic HCV infection in the current study
These findings disagree with that of previous studies as Nakagawa and his colleagues, who concluded that serum ATX level was correlated significantly with liver stiffness, a novel reliable marker of liver fibrosis, being the second-best parameter in male (AUROC, 0.799) and in female (AUROC, 0.876) for prediction of significant fibrosis, and the best parameter in male (AUROC, 0.863) and the third-best parameter in female (AUROC, 0.872) for prediction of cirrhosis, both of which were judged by liver stiffness [18]
Summary
The published Egyptian Demographic Health Survey (EDHS) in 2009 was a national probability sample of the resident Egyptian population. Chronic hepatitis C is a slowly progressive inflammatory disease that can lead to cirrhosis with all its complications. The prognosis of chronic liver disease depends on the progression of liver fibrosis. Liver biopsy is recommended as the gold standard method for determining fibrosis stage, prognosis and therapeutic indications in patients with chronic liver disease. Liver biopsy is an invasive procedure associated with a risk of potentially serious complications [3]. Among the possible alternatives, imaging is informative mainly for cirrhosis but not for lesser stages of fibrosis. It is nonquantitative and cannot track progression. A safe and non-invasive alternative to liver biopsy is needed for assessing liver fibrosis in daily
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