Non-invasive assessment of liver fibrosis through FibroMeter in patients with chronic viral hepatitis B and C

Results We analyzed data from 87 patients, 68 (78.2%) of which had chronic HBV infection and 19 (21.8%), chronic HCV infection. The median age was 44.9 ± 15.0 (range 17-75). The mean body mass index (BMI) was 26.0 ± 3.6 in the HBV group and 26.7 ± 3.2 in the HCV group. Overall, 36 patients (41.4%) had normal BMI, another 36 (41.4%) had a BMI equivalent for overweight status, and 15 (17.2%) had grade I obesity. The distribution of FibroMeter results was: F0-F1: 8 (9.2%), F1: 2 (2.3%), F1-F2: 43 (49.4%), F2: 11 (12.6%), F2F3: 8 (9.2%), F3: 7 (8.0%), F3-F4: 8 (9.2%). The distribution of the necroinflammatory activity was: A0-A1: 16 (18.4%), A1-A2: 52 (59.8%), A2-A3: 19 (21.8%). We identified no statistically significant differences between patients with HBV and HCV regarding mean fibrosis scores (p = 0.476) or mean necroinflammatory activity scores (p = 0.681). Conclusion The patients included in this study had varied ages and characteristics. FibroMeter classified most of them as F1-F2 but descriptive data should be interpreted in clinical context and potential confounding factors should be identified on a case-by-case basis.