Correlation of Serum Transaminase Levels with Liver Fibrosis Assessed by Transient Elastography in Vietnamese Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly recognized as a cause of chronic liver disease, often resulting in liver cirrhosis, portal hypertension, and hepatocellular carcinoma damaging outcomes. Alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) are indicators of hepatocellular injury. Several studies have demonstrated that high ALT levels are correlated with higher nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) risk. The aim was to determine the correlation of serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate transaminase with liver stiffness in Vietnamese patients with NAFLD. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 18 to 80 years old patients diagnosed with fatty liver on ultrasound at the University of Medical Center (UMC) liver clinic. Liver stiffness was measured using transient elastography. The histopathological, demographic, and laboratory data of the participants were also collected. The baseline and clinical characteristics of NAFLD patients were stratified by serum ALT levels. RESULTS: There were 138 NAFLD patients, including 82 men (59.4%) and 56 women (40.6%) (mean ± SD age of 41 ± 11 years). Liver fibrosis (F0) between the two groups showed no significant difference (p = 0.469). Similarly, no difference was found in the mild fibrosis level (F2) of the two groups of patients (p = 0.371). ALT level was significantly higher in NAFLD patients with advanced fibrosis (F3, F4) (3.2% vs 15.9%, p = 0.0013; 3.2% vs 13.2%, p = 0.0047, respectively). NAFLD patients with mild to moderate fibrosis (F1-F2) were detected at 59 U/L cut-off value with 67% sensitivity and 51% specificity. However, severe fibrosis and/or cirrhosis patients (F3-F4) had a cut-off value of 81 U/L with 53% sensitivity and 67% specificity in patients. CONCLUSION: Using ALT level as a marker for severe NAFLD would consider high-risk patients as mild cases, even though there is still the risk of progressive and severe hepatic disease. Our study underlines the small contribution of ALT as an independent factor for detecting NAFLD severity.