Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition

The Korean Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (대한소아소화기영양학회)
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Serologic Biomarkers for Hepatic Fibrosis in Obese Children with Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

  • Jung Yeon Joo (Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Chosun University) ;
  • In Hyuk Yoo (Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea) ;
  • Hye Ran Yang (Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital)
  • Received : 2024.03.12
  • Accepted : 2024.06.05
  • Published : 2024.07.15
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Abstract

Purpose: The prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing with the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. Although NASH has a high risk of progression to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, few studies have reported noninvasive markers for predicting hepatic fibrosis in children. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracies of serologic biomarkers and scoring systems for hepatic fibrosis in obese children with NASH. Methods: A total of 96 children were diagnosed with NASH based on liver biopsy findings and divided into two groups according to the degree of liver fibrosis: mild (stage 0-1) or advanced (stage 2-4). Clinical and laboratory parameters and serum levels of hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen were measured. The aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score were calculated. Results: Among the noninvasive markers, only serum type IV collagen level and FIB-4 were significantly different between the two groups. The area under the receiver operating curve of each biomarker and scoring system was 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70-0.90) for type IV collagen at an optimal cutoff of 148 ng/mL (sensitivity 69.8%, specificity 84.6%), followed by 0.69 (95% CI: 0.57-0.83) for APRI, 0.68 (95% CI: 0.56-0.80) for FIB-4, and 0.65 (95% CI: 0.53-0.77) for hyaluronic acid. Conclusion: Type IV collagen as a single noninvasive serologic biomarker for hepatic fibrosis and FIB-4 as a hepatic fibrosis score are beneficial in predicting advanced hepatic fibrosis and determining proper diagnosis and treatment strategies before fibrosis progresses in obese children with NASH.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This work was supported by grant no. 14-2020-044 from the SNUBH Research Fund.

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