title: Serum Liver Fibrosis Markers for Predicting the Presence of Gastroesophageal Varices in Liver Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.
abstract: Background and Aims. A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate the role of hyaluronic acid (HA), laminin (LN), amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP), and collagen IV (CIV) in predicting the presence of gastroesophageal varices (GEVs) in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods. We enrolled 118 patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent the tests for the four serum liver fibrosis markers and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy at the same admissions. The predictive values of the four serum liver fibrosis markers were evaluated by the areas under the receiving operator characteristics curves (AUROCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results. The prevalence of GEVs was 88% (104/118). The AUROCs for HA, LN, PIIINP, and CIV levels in predicting the presence of GEVs were 0.553 (95% CI: 0.458 to 0.644, P = 0.5668), 0.490 (95% CI: 0.397 to 0.584, P = 0.9065), 0.622 (95% CI: 0.528 to 0.710, P = 0.1099), and 0.560 (95% CI: 0.466 to 0.652, P = 0.4909). The PIIINP level at a cut-off value of 31.25 had a sensitivity of 73.1% and a specificity of 57.1%. Conclusions. The present study did not recommend HA, LN, PIIINP, and CIV levels to evaluate the presence of GEVs in liver cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Xingshun
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-9448-6739
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Hongyu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Chunlian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Junna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hou
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Liver Cirrhosis Study Group, Department of Gastroenterology, General Hospital of Shenyang Military Area, 83 Wenhua Road, Shenyang 110840, China.
authors.forename: Xiaozhong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Guo