Department of Gastroenterology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, South Korea.
The aim of this study was to determine the serum markers that predict significant inflammation in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).
DESIGN AND METHODS:
Between October 2005 and June 2009, 384 subjects with CHB were enrolled.
Multiple logistic regression analysis identified the ALT, hyaluronic acid (HA) and procollagen III N-terminal peptide (PIIINP) as independent predictors of significant inflammation (grade≥3). We constructed a formula for predicting significant inflammation. A significant inflammation (SI) score=1.773×ALT score+1.599×PIIINP score+0.677×HA score-1.962. The area under receiver operating characteristic curve of the SI score was 0.831. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the SI score were 79.5%, 70.8%, 76.8% and 74.3%, respectively.
A simple scoring system including ALT, PIIINP and HA is an accurate non-invasive predictor of significant inflammatory activities in patients with CHB.