Hyaluronic acid in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C on haemodialysis

BackgroundThis study evaluated the role of HA as a marker of liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C on haemodialysis.MethodsThis is a cross-sectional study in which 52 patients were divided into two groups: Group 1: patients with hepatitis C and end-stage renal disease (ESRD) undergoing haemodialysis (n = 23); and Group 2: patients with hepatitis C without ESRD (n = 29). Plasma levels of HA were associated with histological data of the samples obtained by liver biopsy and classified by METAVIR group scoring system.ResultsHigher plasma levels were significantly correlated to significant liver fibrosis (METAVIR ≥ F2). In Group 1, the HA cutoff to discriminate significant fibrosis was 984.8 ng/mL, with accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 80.8%, 83.0%, and 70.0%, respectively. In Group 2, the HA cutoff was 222.3 ng/mL, with accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 74.5%, 70.0%, and 94.0%, respectively.ConclusionHA was an accurate noninvasive marker in predicting significant fibrosis in patients with hepatitis C on haemodialysis.