Evaluation of non-invasive diagnostic methods as indicators of fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

Abstract

Aims: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an increasingly recognized cause of chronic-liver-disease which may be diagnosed incidentally in asymptomatic patients. Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) may cause cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. To date, no established non-invasive test exists to accurately predict fibrosis in NASH. Although liver biopsy is the gold standard for the diagnosis of NASH, it occasionally has some serious complications. We aimed to compare the diagnostic accuracy of some widely used non-invasive fibrosis scoring systems.