AIM: It is reportedly difficult to accurately assess the liver reserve capacity of patients with HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection through contaminated blood products by the Child-Pugh (CP) classification. Therefore, we investigated a clinically applicable scoring system in determining the risk of esophageal varices in HIV/HCV co-infected patients, known as latent portal hypertension leading to esophageal varices. METHODS: Forty-three patients with HIV/HCV co-infection underwent clinical examinations, including endoscopy and assessment of hepatic reserve, in our department between 2009 and 2017. Child-Pugh score, the recently developed albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, and the albumin-indocyanine green evaluation (ALICE) were compared to evaluate their diagnostic accuracy for the detection of esophageal varices using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). RESULTS: The patients were all male hemophiliacs and were positive for both HIV and HCV antibodies, with a median age of 45 years (range, 29-66 years). Thirty-seven patients (84.1%) were classified as CP A at the examination. The comparison of AUROCs showed a superior diagnostic accuracy for ALICE (AUROC = 0.814) to detect esophageal varices. The positive prediction rate was the highest with ALICE if -2.325 was set, and the negative prediction rate was the highest with ALBI if -2.575 was set. The ALICE showed the highest accuracy compared to other two scores. CONCLUSION: The ALICE score was found to be the most valuable system for portal hypertension in HIV/HCV co-infected hemophilia patients. Because of its high specificity, ALICE for secondary surveillance could be used after other markers such as the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and Fibrosis-4 index.
AIM: It is reportedly difficult to accurately assess the liver reserve capacity of patients with HIV/hepatitis C virus (HCV) co-infection through contaminated blood products by the Child-Pugh (CP) classification. Therefore, we investigated a clinically applicable scoring system in determining the risk of esophageal varices in HIV/HCV co-infectedpatients, known as latent portal hypertension leading to esophageal varices. METHODS: Forty-three patients with HIV/HCV co-infection underwent clinical examinations, including endoscopy and assessment of hepatic reserve, in our department between 2009 and 2017. Child-Pugh score, the recently developed albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) grade, and the albumin-indocyanine green evaluation (ALICE) were compared to evaluate their diagnostic accuracy for the detection of esophageal varices using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC). RESULTS: The patients were all male hemophiliacs and were positive for both HIV and HCV antibodies, with a median age of 45 years (range, 29-66 years). Thirty-seven patients (84.1%) were classified as CP A at the examination. The comparison of AUROCs showed a superior diagnostic accuracy for ALICE (AUROC = 0.814) to detect esophageal varices. The positive prediction rate was the highest with ALICE if -2.325 was set, and the negative prediction rate was the highest with ALBI if -2.575 was set. The ALICE showed the highest accuracy compared to other two scores. CONCLUSION: The ALICE score was found to be the most valuable system for portal hypertension in HIV/HCV co-infected hemophiliapatients. Because of its high specificity, ALICE for secondary surveillance could be used after other markers such as the aspartate aminotransferase to platelet ratio index and Fibrosis-4 index.