Department of Internal Medicine, University of Health Sciences Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Türkiye.
Department of Internal Medicine, Bursa City Hospital, Bursa, Türkiye.
Turk J Gastroenterol. 2024 Jun 6;35(8):643-650. doi: 10.5152/tjg.2024.24045.
This awareness study aimed to determine the ultrasound (US) examination rates in relation to US-confirmed metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) diagnosis in internal medicine outpatients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) across Türkiye. A total of 6283 T2D patients were included in this multicenter retrospective cohort study conducted at 17 internal medicine clinics across Türkiye. The presence and indications for US performed within the last 3 years were recorded along with US-confirmed MAFLD rates, laboratory findings on the day of US, and referral rates. Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index was calculated to estimate the risk of advanced liver fibrosis (FIB-4 index ≥ 1.3). Overall, 1731 (27.6%) of 6283 patients had US examination, which revealed MAFLD diagnosis in 69.9% of cases. In addition, 24.4% of patients with US-confirmed MAFLD were at risk of advanced fibrosis (FIB-4 index ≥ 1.3), and the referral rate was 15.5%. In conclusion, our findings emphasize an insufficient MAFLD awareness among clinicians and the likelihood of most of T2D patients to be at risk of living with an unknown status regarding their MAFLD and advanced fibrosis risk.
本意识研究旨在确定在土耳其的 2 型糖尿病（T2D）内科门诊患者中，与超声（US）确认的代谢相关脂肪性肝病（MAFLD）诊断相关的 US 检查率。在土耳其的 17 个内科诊所进行了这项多中心回顾性队列研究，共纳入了 6283 名 T2D 患者。记录了过去 3 年内进行的 US 检查的存在和指征，以及 US 确认的 MAFLD 率、US 当天的实验室结果和转诊率。计算纤维化-4（FIB-4）指数以估计晚期肝纤维化（FIB-4 指数≥1.3）的风险。总体而言，6283 名患者中有 1731 名（27.6%）接受了 US 检查，其中 69.9%的病例诊断为 MAFLD。此外，24.4%的 US 确认 MAFLD 患者存在进展性纤维化（FIB-4 指数≥1.3）风险，转诊率为 15.5%。总之，我们的研究结果强调了临床医生对 MAFLD 的认识不足，而且大多数 T2D 患者都有可能对其 MAFLD 和进展性纤维化风险处于未知状态。
