Volume 3, Issue 1 (March, 2023) – 6 articles
Cover Picture: While histological assessment is the diagnostic standard of hepatic fibrosis, the authors specifically address noninvasive techniques, including equations based on anthropometric parameters, laboratory indices, and elastometry obtained with imaging techniques. The former group includes AST: ALT ratio, the Forns Index, the AST-to-platelet ratio index score, BARD (BMI, AAR, Diabetes) score, the fibrosis-4 index (FIB-4), the NAFLD fibrosis score, the gamma-glutamyl transferase-to-platelet ratio, and the Hepamet fibrosis score. The latter comprises elastographic techniques associated with ultrasonography or magnetic resonance. Our literature review identified numerous studies demonstrating that biomarkers of fibrosis (the most common being FIB-4) and elastographic techniques predict overall mortality and major cardiovascular events among NAFLD patients. The mechanisms accounting for this association are briefly reviewed. In addition to assessing hepatic fibrosis at baseline, during follow-up, and after therapeutic interventions in NAFLD patients, noninvasive assessment of hepatic fibrosis may predict cardiovascular events and overall mortality in these patients.
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