Chronic hepatitis C and liver fibrosis

Table 4 Main validation features among the non-invasive methods for liver fibrosis diagnosis

Ref.	Parameters	Independent validation studies	Etiology-validation studies	Characterization of risk factors for error	Validation in special HCV populations
AAR[138]	AST, ALT	+	+	+	+
APRI[142]	AST, platelets	+	+	+	+
ELF[131]	Age, TIMP-1, hyaluronan, procollagen type III	+/-	+	+	-
Fib-4[145]	Age, ALT, AST, platelets	+	+	+	+
Fibrometer®[122]	Platelets, prothrombin index, AST, α2-macroglobulin, hyaluronan, urea, age	+/-	+	+	+
Fibroscan®[167]	Liver stiffness measurement	+	+	+	+
Fibrospect®[132]	Hyaluronan, TIMP-1, α2-macroglobulin	+/-	-	-	-
Fibrotest-Fibrosure®[132]	γGT, total bilirubin, haptoglobin, α2-macroglobulin, apolipo-protein A1, age, gender	+	+	+	+
Forns’ index[144]	Age, γGT, cholesterol, platelets	+	+	+	+
Hepascore[129]	Age, gender, bilirubin, γGT, hyaluronan, α2-macroglobulin	+/-	+	-	+
Hyaluronan	Hyaluronic acid	+	+	+	+
Lok index[191]	AST, ALT, platelets	-	-	+	-

AST: Aspartate aminotransferase; ALT: Alanine aminotransferase; AAR: AST-to-ALT ratio; APRI: AST-to-platelet ratio index; AP: Age-to-platelet ratio; HCV: Hepatitis C virus; TIMP-1: Tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases-1.