Liver biopsy is required for staging hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C, but it
is an expensive procedure with occasional complications and poor patient acceptance. This
cohort study was designed to assess the accuracy of a noninvasive method aimed to
discriminate between patients with and without significant liver fibrosis (stages 2-4 versus 0-
1). Clinically relevant variables were analyzed in a cohort of 476 consecutive untreated
patients (estimation group, 351 patients; validation group, 125 patients) with chronic …