Characteristics of advanced liver fibrosis among patients with lower FIB-4 index or NAFLD fibrosis score

Abstract

The Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) fibrosis score (NFS) are screening tests that are recommended by the Japanese Society of Hepatology and the Japanese Society of Gastroenterology to detect advanced liver fibrosis in patients with NAFLD. Further inspections are recommended for patients with >1.3 FIB-4 index and −1.44 NFS. We investigated the characteristics of patients with severe hepatic fibrosis with scores under the cutoff values. Patients with advanced liver fibrosis were defined as patients with Stages 3 and 4 who showed higher body mass index (BMI) and serum ferritin compared to patients with stages 0-2. Higher BMI and ferritin as well as other scores, including ferritin, such as NAFIC score, can be useful screening options to detect advanced liver fibrosis among patients with lower FIB-4 index or NFS.