Abstract
BACKGROUND: With the rate of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on the rise, the necessity of identifying patients at risk of cirrhosis and its complications is becoming ever more important. Liver biopsy remains the gold standard for assessing fibrosis, although costs, risks, and availability prohibit its widespread use with at-risk patients. Transient elastography has proven to be a non-invasive and accurate way of assessing fibrosis, although the availability of this modality is often limited in primary care settings. The Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease Fibrosis Score (NFS) are scoring systems that incorporate commonly measured lab parameters and BMI to predict fibrosis. METHOD: In this study, we compared FIB-4 and NFS scores with transient elastography scores to assess the accuracy of these inexpensive and readily available scoring systems in detecting fibrosis. RESULTS: Using an NFS score cut-off of -1.455 and a FibroScan score cut-off of ≥8.7 kPa, the NFS score had a negative predictive value of 94.1%. Using a FibroScan score cut-off of ≥8.7 kPa, the FIB-4 score had a negative predictive value of 91.6%. CONCLUSION: The NFS and FIB-4 are non-invasive, inexpensive scoring systems that have high negative predictive value for fibrosis compared with transient elastography scores. These findings suggest that the NFS and FIB-4 can provide adequate reassurance to rule out fibrosis in patients with NAFLD and can be used with select patients to circumvent the need for transient elastography or liver biopsy.