FIB 4 Calculator?: Hello, Does FIB... - British Liver Trust

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FIB 4 Calculator?

Mickbenidorm profile image
5 Replies

Hello, Does FIB 4 calculator can be used by everyone or just by people with HEP B/C ? I was wondering , thanks in advance for your answers :)

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Mickbenidorm
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5 Replies

It can be used for other aeitologies as well. Keep in mind any of those types of things need to be properly interpreted by a doctor. The fib 4 criteria inputs are limited to 4 (obviously). But since the the first is age that only leaves three for platelets ast and alt. Since these 3 things can be influenced by many other health factors how reliable is it really? Not very in my opinion. Considering people with cirrhosis that dont currently have ongoing inflamattion can tend to have quite normal ast alt and platelets labs, i think alot of people on here with proven cirrhosis would find the fib 4 says they dont have cirrhosis. So the short answer is yes. The long answer is that its not diagnostic enough to stage any cause of liver disease really.

Benidormermick profile image
Benidormermick in reply to

Seems like they brag about the calculator to be very accurate though or at least that's what It seems..

Mickbenidorm profile image
Mickbenidorm in reply toBenidormermick

(answered on my phone , logged into another account wtf :D )

in reply toMickbenidorm

Thats happened to a few members on here. Some sort of glitch lol

in reply toBenidormermick

It does seem that way Benidormermick. It just really lacks the input of far more sensitive criteria though. As i said so many people with cirrhosis who have inactive inflammation have completely normal ast, alt and platelets. These people would always be understaged concerning the level of fibrosis they have using this test and for that reason alone its clearly not accurate to all patients. While some people may happen to land right on the money. So many wont. Alcoholic hepatitis comes to mind as a great example. Given the blood markers consistent with alcoholic hep every person with it would be classed as having cirrhosis accordimg to this test. We know statistacally that only about 60 percent of alcoholic hep patients have underlying cirrhosis so that means 40 percent of them will be overstaged. I know for certain the liver clinic I go to does not use this algorithm in any of their diagnoses.

Personally Im not convinced of its merits. The ELF blood test is really the new shinimg star out there and is proving to be one of the most accurate tests for staging fibrosis.

Ill be honest though that because I do have cirrhosis im always up for punching in my numbers on any of these tests. Because for me when the test is wrong I get to feel happy for 5 seconds as it can only be wrong for me in a delightful way 😄

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