A simple combination of serum type IV collagen and prothrombin time to diagnose cirrhosis in patients with chronic active hepatitis C

Background/aim: Cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis C is a major cause of mortality. The components of reported diagnostic indices of cirrhosis based on biochemical markers may be modified by therapies for hepatic inflammation. We aimed to construct index of cirrhosis in patients treated for chronic active hepatitis. Methods: Using sera of consecutive 140 patients with chronic hepatitis C, routine blood tests including fibrosis markers, type IV collagen and procollagen type III peptide (PIIIP), were performed. Diagnosis of cirrhosis was determined by biopsy. Using multivariate analyses, diagnostic indices of cirrhosis were constructed. Results: Fifty-eight patients were diagnosed to have cirrhosis. Platelet count, prothrombin time, and albumin were lower, and type IV collagen and PIIIP were higher in patients with cirrhosis (p < 0.05). There was no difference in aspartate and alanine aminotransferases (AST, ALT) and γ-glutamyl-transpeptidase (GGT) (p > 0.3). Our diagnostic indices I (prothrombin time and platelet count) and II (prothrombin time and type IV collagen) of cirrhosis showed the area under the ROC curves (AUC) of 0.77 and 0.81, respectively. The index II was relatively superior to the index I. Conclusions: Using combination of type IV collagen and prothrombin time, efficient diagnosis of cirrhosis can be performed in patients with chronic active hepatitis C.