Evaluation of Abdominal Ultrasound Combined with Serum AFP and GP73 Levels in Assessing the Degree of Hepatic Fibrosis in Chronic Hepatitis B

doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-5775.2025.06.019

Abstract：Objective: To explore the value of abdominal ultrasound combined with serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and Golgi protein 73 (GP73) in assessing the degree of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Methods: A total of 92 patients with chronic hepatitis B admitted to Zhengzhou Sixth People's Hospital from September 2021 to September 2023 were selected as the study subjects. According to the results of liver biopsy, they were divided into four groups: no hepatic fibrosis group (12 cases), mild hepatic fibrosis group (20 cases), moderate hepatic fibrosis group (42 cases), and severe hepatic fibrosis group (18 cases). All patients underwent abdominal ultrasound examination and detection of serum AFP and GP73 levels. The parameters of abdominal ultrasound and serum AFP and GP73 levels in the four groups were compared. The diagnostic efficiency of abdominal ultrasound combined with serum AFP and GP73 in assessing the degree of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results: As the degree of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B increased, the diameter of the portal vein, splenic vein, length of the spleen, and thickness of the spleen showed a gradually increasing trend, with statistically significant differences (t=72.034, 20.838, 22.294, 70.397, P<0.05). With the progression of hepatic fibrosis, serum AFP and GP73 levels also showed a gradual increase. The levels of AFP and GP73 in the severe hepatic fibrosis group were higher than those in the moderate hepatic fibrosis group, and those in the moderate hepatic fibrosis group were higher than those in the mild hepatic fibrosis group, with statistically significant differences (t=71.014, 77.493, P<0.05). The area under the curve (AUC) for diagnosing the degree of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B using abdominal ultrasound combined with serum AFP and GP73 was 0.820, which was higher than that of AFP (0.698) and GP73 (0.649) alone, with statistically significant differences (P<0.05). Conclusion: There are significant differences in the imaging features of abdominal ultrasound among patients with different degrees of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B. Serum AFP and GP73 levels are closely related to hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B and can be used to evaluate the degree of hepatic fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B. The combination of abdominal ultrasound and serum markers has high clinical value in diagnosing the degree of hepatic fibrosis in chronic hepatitis B.