Changes in the etiology of chronic liver disease by referral to a FibroScan center: Increasing prevalence of the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Tansu Eris; Moomen Hassan; Yousra Hikal; Enas Sawah; Fatemeh Daneshgar; Ayse Gulsen Teker; Furkan Ozel; Nimet Emel Luleci; Eda Kaya; Yusuf Yilmaz

doi:10.14744/hf.2022.2022.0042

Changes in the etiology of chronic liver disease by referral to a FibroScan center: Increasing prevalence of the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Hepatol Forum. 2023 Jan 17;4(1):7-13. doi: 10.14744/hf.2022.2022.0042. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkiye.
² Department of Public Health, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkiye.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital Knappschaftskrankenhaus Bochum, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
⁴ Liver Research Unit, Institute of Gastroenterology, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkiye.
⁵ Department of Gastroenterology, Recep Tayyip Erdogan University School of Medicine, Rize, Turkiye.

Abstract

Background and aim: Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide with a wide etiological spectrum. FibroScan^® is used for follow-up of fibrosis and steatosis. This single-center study aims to review the distribution of indications by referral to FibroScan^®.

Materials and methods: Demographic characteristics, CLD etiologies, and FibroScan^® parameters of the patients who were referred to our tertiary care center between 2013 and 2021 were retrospectively evaluated.

Results: Out of 9345 patients, 4946 (52.93%) were males, and the median age was 48 [18-88] years. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) was the most common indication (N=4768, 51.02%), followed by hepatitis B (N=3194, 34.18%) and hepatitis C (N=707, 7.57%). Adjusting for age, sex, and CLD etiology, the results revealed that patients with older age (Odds ratio (OR)=2.908; confidence interval (CI)=2.597-3.256; p<0.001) and patients with hepatitis C (OR=2.582; CI=2.168-3.075; p<0.001), alcoholic liver disease (OR=2.019; CI=1.524-2.674, p<0.001), and autoimmune hepatitis (OR=2.138; CI=1.360-3.660, p<0.001) had increased odds of advanced liver fibrosis compared to NAFLD.

Conclusion: NAFLD was the most common indication for referral to FibroScan^®.

Keywords: Chronic liver disease; indications; liver fibrosis.