Li T, Li YP. Innovative diagnostic tool aids screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in non-alcoholic cirrhosis patients. World J Hepatol 2025; 17(1): 101420 [DOI: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i1.101420]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ya-Ping Li, MD, PhD, Doctor, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xibei Hospital), No. 157 West Fifth Road, Xi'an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China. liyaping8605@xjtu.edu.cn
Research Domain of This Article
Methodology
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
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World J Hepatol. Jan 27, 2025; 17(1): 101420 Published online Jan 27, 2025. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v17.i1.101420
Innovative diagnostic tool aids screening for minimal hepatic encephalopathy in non-alcoholic cirrhosis patients
Ting Li, Ya-Ping Li
Ting Li, Ya-Ping Li, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xibei Hospital), Xi'an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China
Author contributions: Li T was responsible for conceptualization, methodology, software, validation, formal analysis, investigation, resources, data curation, writing original draft preparation, writing review and editing, visualization; Li YP was responsible for conceptualization, writing review and editing, supervision, project administration, funding acquisition.
Supported by The Basic and Clinical Integration Project of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. YXJLRH2022067.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Both authors have nothing to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ya-Ping Li, MD, PhD, Doctor, Department of Infectious Diseases, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University (Xibei Hospital), No. 157 West Fifth Road, Xi'an 710004, Shaanxi Province, China. liyaping8605@xjtu.edu.cn
Received: September 14, 2024 Revised: November 30, 2024 Accepted: December 19, 2024 Published online: January 27, 2025 Processing time: 114 Days and 19.2 Hours
Abstract
In this editorial we comment on the article by Jiang et al. We focus on the EncephalApp Stroop test which is an innovative, smartphone-based tool specifically designed for screening minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE) in cirrhosis patients. Traditional MHE screening methods, while highly sensitive and specific, are often complex, time-consuming, and require controlled environmental conditions, limiting their widespread clinical use. The EncephalApp Stroop test simplifies the screening process, enhances diagnostic efficiency, and is applicable across diverse cultural contexts. However, the combination of additional biomarkers could further improve diagnostic accuracy. Despite its promising potential, more multicenter clinical studies are required to validate its effectiveness and applicability on a global scale.
Core Tip: Compared with the standard criteria of the psychometric hepatic encephalopathy score, which generally has diagnostic value, the EncephalApp Stroop test is an innovative tool. The EncephalApp Stroop test simplifies the screening process, enhances diagnostic efficiency, and is applicable across diverse cultural contexts. The test also takes only a few minutes, largely reducing the workload of clinicians.
