Aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index as a non-invasive parameter for predicting liver fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B

Objective To evaluate the efficacy of aspartate aminotransferase(AST)to platelet(PLT)ratio index(APRI) in predicting liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B(CHB).Methods One hundred and sixty one CHB patients were evaluated.Fibrosis was staged using Ishak score.AST and PLT count were determined and their ratio index(APRI) was calculated to evaluate the correlation between liver fibrosis and APRI.Area under receiver operating characteristic curve(AUROC) was constructed to analyze the accuracy rate of APRI for predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis.Stage of fibrosis and APRI before and after antiviral treatment were analyzed.Results AST,PLT and APRI were important indices for predicting significant fibrosis in CHB patients.APRI had significant correlation with liver fibrosis(P 0.001).The AUROC of APRI for predicting significant fibrosis and cirrhosis were 0.786 and 0.703,respectively(P=0.000).APRI 1.5 and APRI2 were the cutoff values of significant fibrosis and cirrhosis respectively;and the positive predictive values were 97% and 76%,and the negative predictive values were 45% and 75%,respectively.Degree of liver fibrosis and APRI decreased after treated with antiviral drugs.Conclusions APRI is an useful noninvasive tool for predicting significant liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in CHB patients.