Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic efficacy of serum IL-34 level and transient elastography in predicting liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB). Methods A total of 100 patients with CHB underwent percutaneous liver biopsies in our hospital from June 2018 through June 2019. Serum IL-34 levels were detected by ELISA and the liver stiffness measure (LSM) were obtained by elastography. The asparate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index (APRI) and the liver fibrosis -4 factor index (FIB-4) were calculated. The univariate and multivariate Logistic regression analysis were performed to determine the independent predictors of significant liver fibrosis in patients with CHB. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to analyze the cutoff value of independent predictors, and the area under the curve (AUC), diagnostic sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) were calculated. Results Out of 100 patients with CHB, the liver histopathological examination showed fibrosis 0 (F0) in 7 cases, F1 in 25 (non-significant liver fibrosis in 32), and F2 in 32, F3 in 28 and F4in 8 cases (>F2 as significant liver firobosis in 68); the age in non-significant liver fibrosis was (35.2±8.0)yr, much younger than , serum IL-34 level was (10.8±3.6)pg/ml, much lower than , the LSM was (6.1±1.4)kPa, much lower than , the APRI score was (0.5±0.2), much lower than and the FIB-4 score was (1.2±1.0), much lower than in patients with significant liver fibrosis; the multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that serum IL-34 levels, the LSM, the APRI and FIB-4 scores were the independent factors affecting liver fibrosis (P<0.05); the AUC in diagnosing liver fibrosis by serum IL-34 levels, the LSM, the APRI and FIB-4 scores were 0.84, 0.89, 0.74 and 0.72, and the AUC, the Se and Sp by serum IL-34 and LSM combination were 0.92, 89.4% and 94.0%, respectively.Conclusion The application of serum IL-34 levels might be used as an efficacious index for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in patients with CHB, and its combination with LSM could improve the diagnostic efficacy.

Key words: Hepatitis B, Interleukin-34, Liver stiffness measurement, Logistic regression analysis, Diagnosis