Correlation Of Serum Liver Fibrosis Markers With Severity Of Liver Dysfunction In Liver Cirrhosis: A Retrospective Cross-sectional Study

Objective: Hyaluronic acid(HA), laminin(LN), amino-terminal pro-peptide of type III pro-collagen(PIIINP), and collagen IV(CIV) are four major serum markers of liver fibrosis. This retrospective cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the correlations of the four serum markers with the severity of liver dysfunction in cirrhotic patients.Methods: Between January 2013 and June 2014, a total of 228 patients with a clinical diagnosis with liver cirrhosis and without malignancy underwent the tests of HA, LN,PIIINP, and CIV levels. Laboratory data were collected. Child-Pugh and model for the end-stage of liver diseases(MELD) scores were calculated.Results: Of them, 32%, 40%, and 18% had Child-Pugh class A, B, and C, respectively.MELD score was 7.58±0.50. HA(coefficient r: 0.1612, P=0.0203), LN(coefficient r:0.2445, P=0.0004), and CIV(coefficient r: 0.2361, P=0.0006) levels significantly correlated with Child-Pugh score, but not PIIINP level. Additionally, LN(coefficient r:0.2588, P=0.0002) and CIV(coefficient r: 0.1795, P=0.0108) levels significantly correlated with MELD score, but not HA or PIIINP level.Conclusions: HA, LN, and CIV levels might be positively associated with the severity of liver dysfunction in cirrhotic patients. However, given a relatively weak correlation between them, our findings should be cautiously interpreted and further validated.