UTILITY OF A DISCRIMINANT SCORE FOR DIAGNOSING ADVANCED FIBROSIS OR CIRRHOSIS IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC HEPATITIS-C VIRUS-INFECTION

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the utility of a modifie d three-parameter cirrhosis discriminant score (CDS) for diagnosing ad vanced fibrosis or cirrhosis in patients with evidence of chronic hepa titis C, Methods: We examined liver tissue from 79 patients, Patients with a histological fibrosis score of 0-2 made up group A, and patient s with a score of 3 or 4 (advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis) group B, Res ults: The modified CDS (possible total score 0-11) was derived from th ree laboratory parameters: platelets, ALT/AST ratio, and PT, The total score was significantly lower in group A (4.3 +/- 2.0) than in group B (7.9 +/- 1.4) (p < 0.0001), There was a positive correlation between the CDS and histological fibrosis score (r = 0,64,p < 0.0001), With 8 or above as the cutoff value, the CDS had a sensitivity of 46% and a specificity of 98 % for the diagnosis of histological fibrosis scores of 3 or 4, Conclusions: We conclude that a three-parameter CDS is usef ul for identifying patients with hepatitis C and a high likelihood of cirrhosis, Patients with a CDS less than or equal to 7 still require h istological examination to identify advanced fibrosis or cirrhosis.