A209 NON-INVASIVE ASSESSMENT OF LIVER FIBROSIS USING APRI, FIB-4, AND TRANSIENT ELASTOGRAPHY IN CHRONIC HEPATITIS B PATIENTS

Abstract Background Accurate assessment of liver fibrosis is important to identify patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB) who require antiviral therapy. As liver biopsy is invasive and costly, non-invasive tests of liver fibrosis are increasingly being used. Aims We aimed to evaluate the performance of the aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), Fibrosis 4 index (FIB-4), and transient elastography (TE) in predicting fibrosis in patients with CHB. Methods We retrospectively analyzed a prospectively enrolled cohort of consecutive adults with CHB who underwent liver biopsy for routine clinical indications (ALT > ULN and HBV DNA > 2,000 IU/ml) from January 2018 to December 2019. Demographic information, routine biochemistry, HBV serology including HBV DNA, abdominal ultrasound, fibrosis stage by liver biopsy and TE data were collected. Positive predictive values (PPV) and negative predictive values (NPV) were calculated using published cut-off values with liver biopsy as the reference standard. Results Fifty-five patients of Asian ethnicity (mean age 46 years, 65% male) were included. Most patients were HBeAg-negative (67%) and treatment-naïve (80%). Eleven (20%) patients had advanced fibrosis (F3-F4 METAVIR) and 4 (7%) patients had cirrhosis (F4). APRI <0.50 had a NPV of 73% for significant fibrosis (F2-F4) and APRI >1.50 had a PPV of 33% for significant. All 4 patients with cirrhosis were misclassified as having no cirrhosis with an APRI <1. FIB-4 <1.45 had a NPV of 90% for advanced fibrosis (F3-F4). No patient, including 11 patients with advanced fibrosis, had a FIB-4 above the cut-off value to detect advanced fibrosis (>3.25). TE data was available for 38 patients. TE <7.25 kPa had a NPV of 78% for significant fibrosis and TE >12.4 kPa had a PPV of 50% for cirrhosis. Conclusions In Asian patients with CHB and a low prevalence of advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis, APRI, FIB-4, and TE performed well in excluding those with advanced fibrosis but were unable to accurately identify those with significant/advanced fibrosis and cirrhosis. Further studies with larger numbers of CHB patients are needed to confirm our results. Funding Agencies None