Correlation of serum aspartate aminotransferase level to platelet count ratio index with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity score

Abstract

In case of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the ratio of serum aspartate  aminotransferase (AST) level to platelet count index has been proposed as a non-invasive and readily available tool for the assessment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The study was conducted on 50  non-alcoholic fatty liver disease patient (25  non-alcoholic steatohepatitis and 25 simple steatosis). The mean (± SD) serum AST level in the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis group  was 55.2 ± 30.1 IU/L whereas in simple steatosis group it was 33.6 ± 20.0 IU/L. The mean platelet count in the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis group was 303.1 ± 68.7 x 10⁹ /L whereas in the simple steatosis group it was 327.8 ± 66.8 x 10⁹/L. The mean AST platelet ratio index (APRI) score in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis group was 0.5 ± 0.3 and in the simple steatosis group it was 0.3 ± 0.2. In conclusion, the APRI  was  significantly higher in the non-alcoholic steatohepatitis group than the simple steatosis group.