New test reliable?

[LtAngua52]

Hello everyone. I hope your Saturday is going well. I spoke with my GP this morning to receive blood test results. She said my liver tests are good, my ALT only 50. She explained they did a fairly new test too, called fibrosis 4, known as fib 4 and that assessed scarring of the liver. It was really low at 0.53 so that's great.

I was worried because 8 years ago I was told I had steatohepatitis after they removed a benign tumour from the right lobe of the liver. At the time he said I was ok right now, but in 10 years we would be having a very different conversation! I've been scared about it for 8 years. I had gone to my GP because I feel swollen in the upper abdomen, feel very uncomfortable and have some twinges of pain. I was very worried.

Is this new test reliable? Does it mean I definitely don't have scarring? I'm not being referred for the symptoms but will return if it continues.

Thanks for reading.

[aranshaw]

I mean I’m not sure how reliable it is but for reference I had the same FIB4 result as you only to to find out through a biopsy a month later I actually had cirrhosis! Lovely surprise.

[Sophia1968 in reply to aranshaw]

oh bless you Aran, I had a similar surprise , my dr did the fib4 test and I was low with no advanced fibrosis, yet my scan showed severe liver impairment, then a fibroscan gave me a kpa of 21.5, I was not expecting it, I personally don’t think the fib 4 is reliable because it goes by the bloods and we all know you can have perfect bloods yet still have a cirrotic liver xx

[LtAngua52 in reply to aranshaw]

Sorry to hear that. I hope you are being treated well now. Take care

[Sophia1968]

I personally have not found it reliable hun xx

[LtAngua52 in reply to Sophia1968]

Thanks Sophia. Think I will be returning to my GP.

[Hexamon]

yes I agree with aranshaw. I did the same thing. Diagnosis of cirrhosis but my liver panel was missing AST so asked for it independently. Fed the figures into fib4 and got a figure of 1.1 which indicated no cirrhosis. Spoke to my consultant who said that 3 years of fibroscan at 8,16and 29 is enough for him to diagnose cirrhosis and stick with that. Both tests are not 100% reliable. I’m not waiting for an CE ultrasound to categorise a lesion and the lack of a diagnosis I can see and understand as being definitive is worrying me more than the lesion ! Good luck !

[LtAngua52 in reply to Hexamon]

Thank you. I will be speaking to my GP. This doesn't seem to be the reliable test they suggested. I hope they will refer me for a fibroscan!

[LtAngua52]

Thank you for your responses. I think I will speak to my GP again and see if I can get the fibroscan I initially requested.

[Sophia1968 in reply to LtAngua52]

I would request one as opposed to these calculation tests, cos I really do not think they are reliable to be honest, good luck hun xx

[LtAngua52 in reply to Sophia1968]

Thanks again. I think I will really need to argue my case for a scan as she was very much against it because of my results. If I can find some research to challenge the tests she is relying on, all the better!

[Onesmallstep1969]

Like others have said, don't rely on blood tests to tell you whether you have scarring. Most of the blood tests are wonderful at detecting inflammation. Once the inflammation is gone, you can still have scarring. The Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) is a scoring system to grade liver fibrosis using a combination of patient’s age, platelet count, aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT). Fibroscan is not bad at ruling out scarring but it's not perfect either. Knowing that you have some degree of damage (fibrosis or cirrhosis) is enough of a wake up call to follow a healthy diet, avoid alcohol, and get moving every day to help out your liver. It's not exactly easy but the alternative is worse! Good luck to you and just keep going!

[LtAngua52 in reply to Onesmallstep1969]

Thank you for that. I will definitely see what I can do to give me the best chance of health. I just hope I can obtain a scan to contribute to everything else!

[BritishLiverTrust8 Moderator British Liver Trust]

Dear LTAngua52

If you [are in the UK and] would find it useful to talk things over, our nurse-led helpline is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 3pm on 0800 652 7330 (excluding bank holidays)

Best wishes

British Liver Trust

[LtAngua52 in reply to BritishLiverTrust8]

Thank you 😊