The Largest American Study Comparing Transient Elastography and the Aminotransferase-to-platelet Ratio Index Score, Two Noninvasive Tests for Liver Fibrosis Staging in HIV/HCV Coinfected Patients

OBJECTIVE: Elastography has become the standard of care of diagnostic approaches for liver disease, particularly when dealing with hepatitis C. There areno studies in the inner-city populations of Newark, New Jersey, that describe the comparison of noninvasive markers, such as FibroScan andaminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) scoring. METHODS: Using a chart review method, we used a case-control study method of gathering and analyzing the data, using P < or = 0.05 as a significant variable. RESULTS: The outcome of this study indicates that the FibroScan may be a better marker than the APRI score for the staging of liver disease when a patient has hepatitis B or C with or without HIV/AIDS. CONCLUSIONS: This may be a benchmark study to further enhance our understanging of the utility of the fibroscan.