Simple non-invasive markers for early diagnosis and determination of the severity of liver diseases

Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect and severity of liver diseases of different etiologies on the values of three non-invasive fibrosis markers.

Material and methods: Serum samples from 65 patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, 31 with non-alcoholic cirrhosis and 32 with toxic hepatitis, were tested. Cirrhotic patients were classified according to the Child-Pugh scale. The age-platelet (AP) index, HUI score and Fibro Q index were calculated using the specific formulas.

Results: The values of all tested scores were significantly higher in controls than in patients with liver diseases and were significantly different between liver diseases. The patients with alcoholic and non-alcoholic cirrhosis had higher values of the AP index, HUI score and Fibro Q index than patients with toxic hepatitis. HUI and Fibro Q scores appeared to vary according to the severity of liver damage and were higher in Child-Pugh class C than in classes A and B.

Conclusions: We conclude that all tested scores based on liver function tests are good markers for non-invasive diagnosis of liver damage. Additionally, HUI and Fibro Q scores reflect the severity of liver cirrhosis.