Low plasma apolipoprotein A-I level is not a reliable marker of fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis B.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clinical value of plasma apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I) as a marker of fibrosis in children with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).


METHODS
Liver biopsy specimens from 49 children with CHB were evaluated by using Knodell index. Plasma Apo A-I level was measured after 12-h fasting. Student's t test, Spearman's correlation test and receptor-operating characteristic (ROC) curve were used for statistical evaluation.


RESULTS
Mean Apo A-I level of the patients was not different from that of controls (P>0.05). Six (8.7%) children had fibrosis score of more than 2 (severe fibrosis). No difference in the level of mean plasma Apo A-I was found among children with and without severe fibrosis (P>0.05). No correlation between Apo A-I level and fibrosis scores was found (P>0.05). The area under the ROC curve was 0.407+/-0.146 (P>0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Severe fibrosis is not common in children with CHB and plasma Apo A-I level is not a reliable indicator of fibrosis.
Selimoglu
Mukadder-Ayse
MA
Ataturk Universitesi, Tlp Fakultesi, Cocuk Sagllgl ve Hastallklarl AD, Erzurum 25240, Turkey. ayseselimoglu@hotmail.com
Yagcl
Rasit-Vural
RV
Yüce
Gül
G
D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I / Q000097:blood* / Q000172:deficiency; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000209:etiology; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
D016632:Apolipoprotein A-I; D015415:Biomarkers