Comparison of noninvasive markers of fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.

Background & Aims: There is a need for a reliable and inexpensive noninvasive marker of hepatic fibrosis in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). We compared the performance of the FIB4 index (based on age, aspartate aminotransferase [AST] and alanine aminotransferase [ALT] levels, and platelet counts) with 6 other non-invasive markers of fibrosis in patients with NAFLD.

Methods: Using a nation-wide database of 541 adults with NAFLD, jackknife-validated areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROC) of FIB4 and 7 other markers were compared.