Source
Department of Infective Disease, Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China; Department of Liver Disease, The Sixth People's Hospital affiliated to Zhejiang University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS:
The role of serum quantitative HBsAg (qHBsAg) in identifying hepatitis B virus (HBV) carriers with significant fibrosis is unknown. This study aims to evaluate the diagnostic value of qHBsAg for hepatic fibrosis in HBeAg positive HBV carriers.
METHODS:
Consecutive biopsy-proven HBeAg positive HBV carriers were prospectively recruited in our center from 2009 to 2011, and were randomly divided into training and validation set. Area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) was used to determine the diagnostic accuracy of simple tests for significant fibrosis (Scheuer Stage, F≥2).
RESULTS:
Overall, a total of 197 eligible patients (median age 31 years; 149 males) were enrolled. The median qHBsAg was 4.20 (log10 IU/mL). Significant fibrosis was confirmed in 112 (56.9%) patients. By logistical regression analysis, qHBsAg and GGT were identified as predictors for significant fibrosis in training set (n=124). Thus qHBsAg index (qHBsI) and GGT to qHBsAg ratio (GqHBsR) were selected for the subsequent analysis. In the training set, an AUC of 0.762, 0.826, 0.749, and 0.771 was observed for qHBsI, GqHBsR, FIB-4 and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (APRI), respectively (all p<0.05). GqHBsR yielded a higher AUC than APRI and FIB-4 (both p<0.05). Using the optimal cutoff of 7.78, GqHBsR showed a sensitivity of 78.9% and a specificity of 73.6%. About 80% of liver biopsy could be avoided in the entire cohort.
CONCLUSIONS:
Serum qHBsAg based simple tests, especially GqHBsR, can accurately and specifically identify significant fibrosis in treatment naïve HBeAg positive HBV carriers.