Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34992072›Full record

ArticleBMJ open gastroenterology2022

Impact of statin treatment on non-invasive tests based predictions of fibrosis in a referral pathway for NAFLD.

Mustafa Al-Karaghouli, Sonia Fuentes, Tracy Davyduke, Mang Ma, Juan G Abraldes

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open gastroenterology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Mustafa Al-KaraghouliDivision of Gastroenterology (Liver Unit), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0668-6002
Sonia FuentesFamily Medicine, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Tracy Davyduke *Hepatology Triage Clinic, Alberta Health Services, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Mang Ma *Division of Gastroenterology (Liver Unit), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Juan G Abraldes *Division of Gastroenterology (Liver Unit), University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada juan.g.abraldes@ualberta.ca.
University of Alberta · CAAlberta Health Services · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveIn non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), fibrosis determines the risk of liver complications. Non-invasive tests (NITs) such as FIB-4, NAFLD Fibrosis Score (NFS) and Hepamet, have been proposed as a tool to triage NAFLD patients in primary care (PC). These NITs include AST±ALT in their calculations. Many patients with NAFLD take statins, which can affect AST/ALT, but it is unknown if statin affects NITs fibrosis prediction.

methodsWe included 856 patients referred through a standardised pathway from PC with a final diagnosis of NAFLD. 832 had reliable vibration controlled transient elastography (VCTE) measurements. We assessed the effects of statins on the association between NITs and VCTE at different fibrosis thresholds.

results129 out of 832 patients were taking a statin and 138 additional patients had indication for a statin. For any given FIB-4 value, patients on a statin had higher probabilities of high VCTE than patients not on a statin. Adjusting for body mass index, diabetes and age almost completely abrogated these differences, suggesting that these were related to patient's profile rather to a specific effect of statins. Negative predictive values (NPVs) of FIB-4 <1.3 for VCTE >8, 10, 12 and 16 were, respectively, 89, 94, 96% and 100% in patients on a statin and 92, 95, 98% and 99% in patients not on a statin. Statins had similar impact on Hepamet predictions but did not modify NFS predictions.

conclusionIn patients with NAFLD referred from PC, those on statins had higher chances of a high VCTE for a given FIB-4 value, but this had a negligible impact on the NPV of the commonly used FIB-4 threshold (<1.3).

Indexed as

Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase InhibitorsNon-alcoholic Fatty Liver DiseaseFibrosisHumansLiver CirrhosisReferral and ConsultationHydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitorsfatty liverfibrosislipidsnonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Identifiers

PMID34992072
PMCPMC8739069
OpenAlexW4206211273

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.