%0 Journal Article
%T The diagnostic utility of FIB-4 as a non-invasive tool for liver fibrosis scoring among NAFLD patients: a retrospective cross-sectional study.
%A Amer J
%A Alnees M
%A Salameh M
%A Daraghmeh A
%A Kabha A
%A AlHabil Y
%A Darwish A
%A Najajra D
%A Awwad M
%A Abu Hamdeh N
%A Abdoh Q
%J Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci
%V 28
%N 8
%D 2024 Apr
%M 38708469
%F 3.784
%R 10.26355/eurrev_202404_36026
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>Liver biopsy is the gold standard method to evaluate patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, due to its several limitations and complications, a reliable and non-invasive marker is required to assess liver fibrosis. In this study, we compared the performance of the FIB-4 index [based on age, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and platelets count] with the Scheuer scoring system of liver biopsies to evaluate the diagnostic utility of FIB-4 among NAFLD patients with different liver fibrosis severities.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>A cross-sectional study was conducted at An-Najah National University Hospital (NNUH) in Palestine. The FIB-4 index was calculated using laboratory data for 128 NAFLD patients who underwent liver biopsies between November 2014 and July 2022. The results of FIB-4 were compared with the Scheuer scoring system of liver biopsies (using F0, F1+F2, F3+F4) to determine the sensitivity and specificity of FIB-4 in detecting and staging liver fibrosis.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Out of 128 patients involved in our study, 49 of them had advanced fibrosis according to liver biopsy (F3+F4), where their FIB-4 indices showed 87% sensitivity at 1.45 cut off point and 87% specificity at 3.25 cut off point.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>The FIB-4 index may be used as a screening tool in the primary care setting. To raise awareness of liver diseases, this non-invasive, inexpensive, simple, and quick marker could identify people in need of further liver fibrosis evaluation and diagnosis.