Assessment of liver fibrosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with methotrexate: Utility of fibroscan and biochemical markers in routine clinical practice

Objectives: To study the prevalence of liver fibrosis (LF) measured by FibroScan and APRI index in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (AR) undergoing treatment with methotrexate (MTX).

Methods: We included 59 patients with RA on MTX. Medical records, FibroScan measures and serological markers of liver damage were compared on the basis of cumulative methotrexate dose.

Results: Mean treatment duration was 82.4±65.1 months and mean cumulative dose was 5214.5±4031.9mg. Five patients met LF criteria by fibroscan, while only one patient had a suggestive APRI score. No statistically significant differences were found in terms of LF measured by both APRI and fibroScan between patients with cumulative doses above and below 4000mg. There was also no relationship between LF and treatment duration.

Conclusions: The occurrence of LF in patients with RA on MTX is a multifactorial process that does not seem directly related to its cumulative dose. FibroScan may be a useful technique in clinical practice to screen for this complication.