Study of fibro Q test, AAR & APRI indices as markers of fibrosis in chronic liver disease

Introduction: Liver biopsy and ultrasound are the gold standard methods to assess liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease (CLD). Recently Fibrosis Quotient test (Fibro Q test), AST: ALT Ratio (AAR) & AST: Platelet Ratio Indices (APRI) are the three non-invasive and simple indices proposed for assessing liver fibrosis in CLD. Objectives of the study: To know the efficacy of the indices- Fibro Q test, AAR, APRI as markers of fibrosis in CLD and to know which among these indices would be a high sensitive marker in estimating fibrosis. Materials and Method: The study includes 60 subjects, out of which 30 were clinically diagnosed as CLD and were confirmed by abdominal ultrasound (USG) and 30 were age and sex matched healthy controls. Fasting blood sample was collected; and AST, ALT, prothrombin time and platelet count were analysed. Fibro Q test, AAR & APRI were calculated. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were constructed to compare the accuracy of these three non-invasive tests in predicting significant fibrosis in patients with CLD. Results: Fibro Q, AAR, APRI were significantly increased in cases compared to controls. Fibro Q is a better marker than AAR & APRI, in the prediction of significant liver fibrosis. Conclusion: Fibro Q test, AAR & APRI indices are efficient markers to evaluate liver fibrosis in patients with CLD. Fibro Q, a novel non-invasive test, is a high sensitive marker than AAR & APRI. Keywords: AAR- Aspartate Amino Transferase – Alanine Amino Transferase Ratio; APRI- Aspartate Amino Transferase- Platelet Ratio Index; CLD- Chronic Liver Disease; Fibro Q test-Fibrosis Quotient test