Comparison of liver enzymes level and sonographic findings value with liver biopsy findings in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients

Authors
Mahsa Khodadoostan 1
Behzad Shariatifar 2
Narges Motamedi 3
Hadi Abdolahi 2
1 Department of Gastroenterology, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
2 Department of Internal Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
3 Department of Community Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Background: This study aimed to examine the relationship between sonographic diagnosis of fatty liver and liver enzyme level with histopathologic abnormalities and liver biopsy findings in patient with the nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study conducted on 109 patients with diagnosed and under treatment NAFLD refer to Gastroenterology Clinics of AL Zahra Hospital in Isfahan, Iran. Age, sex, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) level recorded for all patients. Liver ultrasonography was performed for all patients. Steatosis grading and fibrosis stage were evaluated by liver biopsy.




Results: We enrolled 109 subjects with NAFLD who had an indication for liver biopsy and met inclusion criteria of our study. Of these, 78 subjects (71.6%) were male and 31 subjects (28.4) were female. Mean age was 40.17 ± 11.01 years old. Our results showed there was a statistically significant relationship between ultrasonographic findings and histologic findings based on biopsy. There was statistically significant relationship between liver enzyme (ALT, AST and ALP) level and ultrasonographic findings, but there was no significant relationship between AST and ALT level and histologic findings, but the relationship between ALP level and histologic findings (steatosis and fibrosis) was statistically significant (P = 0.01).
Conclusion: Ultrasonographic finding may be can use to identify nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and stage of fibrosis in patients with NAFLD, but AST and ALT level is not reliable screening test to identify stage of fibrosis and steatosis in these patients. Therefore, liver biopsy remains the gold standard for establishing steatohepatitis and advanced fibrosis in patients with NAFLD.

Keywords

1.
Obika M, Noguchi H. Diagnosis and evaluation of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Exp Diabetes Res 2012;2012:145754.  Back to cited text no. 1
    
2.
Ratziu V, Bellentani S, Cortez-Pinto H, Day C, Marchesini G. A position statement on NAFLD/NASH based on the EASL 2009 special conference. J Hepatol 2010;53:372-84.  Back to cited text no. 2
    
3.
Browning JD, Szczepaniak LS, Dobbins R, Nuremberg P, Horton JD, Cohen JC, et al. Prevalence of hepatic steatosis in an urban population in the United States: Impact of ethnicity. Hepatology 2004;40:1387-95.  Back to cited text no. 3
    
4.
Clark JM, Brancati FL, Diehl AM. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Gastroenterology 2002;122:1649-57.  Back to cited text no. 4
    
5.
Alavian SM, Mohammad-Alizadeh AH, Esna-Ashari F, Ardalan G, Hajarizadeh B. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease prevalence among school-aged children and adolescents in Iran and its association with biochemical and anthropometric measures. Liver Int 2009;29:159-63.  Back to cited text no. 5
    
6.
Chen CH, Huang MH, Yang JC, Nien CK, Yang CC, Yeh YH, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in an adult population of taiwan: Metabolic significance of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in nonobese adults. J Clin Gastroenterol 2006;40:745-52.  Back to cited text no. 6
    
7.
Clark JM, Brancati FL, Diehl AM. The prevalence and etiology of elevated aminotransferase levels in the United States. Am J Gastroenterol 2003;98:960-7.  Back to cited text no. 7
    
8.
Neuschwander-Tetri BA, Clark JM, Bass NM, Van Natta ML, Unalp-Arida A, Tonascia J, et al. Clinical, laboratory and histological associations in adults with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Hepatology 2010;52:913-24.  Back to cited text no. 8
[PUBMED]    
9.
Shulman AI, Mangelsdorf DJ. Retinoid x receptor heterodimers in the metabolic syndrome. N Engl J Med 2005;353:604-15.  Back to cited text no. 9
    
10.
Brunt EM. Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis: Definition and pathology. Semin Liver Dis 2001;21:3-16.  Back to cited text no. 10
    
11.
Kleiner DE, Brunt EM, Van Natta M, Behling C, Contos MJ, Cummings OW, et al. Design and validation of a histological scoring system for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Hepatology 2005;41:1313-21.  Back to cited text no. 11
    
12.
Byrne CD, Olufadi R, Bruce KD, Cagampang FR, Ahmed MH. Metabolic disturbances in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Clin Sci (Lond) 2009;116:539-64.  Back to cited text no. 12
    
13.
Paschos P, Paletas K. Non alcoholic fatty liver disease and metabolic syndrome. Hippokratia 2009;13:9-19.  Back to cited text no. 13
    
14.
Tung T, Chiu W, Lin T, Shih H, Hsu C. An exploration of prevalence and associated factors of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in the taiwanese police service. Iran J Public Health 2011;40:54-62.  Back to cited text no. 14
    
15.
Wieckowska A, Feldstein AE. Diagnosis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Invasive versus noninvasive. Semin Liver Dis 2008;28:386-95.  Back to cited text no. 15
    
16.
Mofrad P, Contos MJ, Haque M, Sargeant C, Fisher RA, Luketic VA, et al. Clinical and histologic spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease associated with normal ALT values. Hepatology 2003;37:1286-92.  Back to cited text no. 16
    
17.
Osawa H, Mori Y. Sonographic diagnosis of fatty liver using a histogram technique that compares liver and renal cortical echo amplitudes. J Clin Ultrasound 1996;24:25-9.  Back to cited text no. 17
    
18.
Strauss S, Gavish E, Gottlieb P, Katsnelson L. Interobserver and intraobserver variability in the sonographic assessment of fatty liver. AJR Am J Roentgenol 2007;189:W320-3.  Back to cited text no. 18
    
19.
Vuppalanchi R, Unalp A, Van Natta ML, Cummings OW, Sandrasegaran KE, Hameed T, et al. Effects of liver biopsy sample length and number of readings on sampling variability in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2009;7:481-6.  Back to cited text no. 19
    
20.
Bedogni G, Miglioli L, Masutti F, Tiribelli C, Marchesini G, Bellentani S. Prevalence of and risk factors for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: The dionysos nutrition and liver study. Hepatology 2005;42:44-52.  Back to cited text no. 20
    
21.
Chang Y, Ryu S, Sung E, Jang Y. Higher concentrations of alanine aminotransferase within the reference interval predict nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Clin Chem 2007;53:686-92.  Back to cited text no. 21
    
22.
Saadeh S, Younossi ZM, Remer EM, Gramlich T, Ong JP, Hurley M, et al. The utility of radiological imaging in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Gastroenterology 2002;123:745-50.  Back to cited text no. 22
    
23.
Hamaguchi M, Kojima T, Itoh Y, Harano Y, Fujii K, Nakajima T, et al. The severity of ultrasonographic findings in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease reflects the metabolic syndrome and visceral fat accumulation. Am J Gastroenterol 2007;102:2708-15.  Back to cited text no. 23
Advanced Biomedical Research
Volume 2016, March
March 2016
Pages 1-5