Platelet count to spleen diameter ratio non-invasively identifies severe fibrosis and cirrhosis in patients with autoimmune hepatitis.

BACKGROUND AND AIM

Non-invasive markers are essential to assess the progression of chronic liver diseases to fibrosis/ cirrhosis and the effectiveness of therapeutic strategies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the ability of non-invasive markers to identify significant fibrosis, severe fibrosis, and cirrhosis in patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH).

METHODS

Seventy-six patients with AIH were enrolled in the study and analyzed for the following parameters of liver fibrosis: Fibrosis 4 score (FIB-4), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) ratio (AAR), AST to platelet count ratio (APRI), and platelet count to spleen diameter (PC/SD) ratio. All patients underwent liver biopsy. The diagnostic accuracy of tests was evaluated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC).

RESULTS

Among the 76 AIH patients, 55 (72.3%) had significant fibrosis (≥ F2), 37 (48.7%) had severe fibrosis (≥ F3), and 29 (38.2%) had cirrhosis (F4). PC/SD ratio (AUROC = 0.840) was superior to AAR (AUROC = 0.756), FIB-4 (AUROC = 0.702), and APRI (AUROC = 0.626) in discriminating between mild and significant fibrosis (≥ F2). The AUROCs of PC/SD ratio, FIB-4, AAR, and APRI were 0.884, 0.742, 0.731, and 0.707, respectively, for severe fibrosis (≥ F3); 0.968, 0.795, 0.744, and 0.723, respectively, for cirrhosis (F4). PC/SD ratio correctly identified 85.1% of patients with severe fibrosis, and 89.6% of patients with cirrhosis.

CONCLUSIONS

PC/SD ratio proved to be a simple non-invasive tool to correctly identify AIH patients with severe fibrosis and cirrhosis, thereby reducing the need for a liver biopsy in these patients.