Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to explore the diagnostic diagnostic values of plasma Golgi protein 73 (GP73) and liver stiffness measurement (LSM) combination for liver fibrosis in patients with hepatitis B and C. Methods 46 patients with hepatitis B, 98 patients with hepatitis C, 17 patients with hepatitis B liver cirrhosis and 35 patients with hepatitis B liver cirrhosis as well as 56 healthy persons were enrolled in our hospital between June 2015 and January 2019, and plasma GP73 levels were detected by ELISA and LSM was obtained by Fibrotouch. Liver biopsies were performed in all the patients. The diagnostic efficacy was evaluated by area under ROC. Results Out of our series, the histopathological examination showed that liver fibrosis staging (S)1 in 45 (23.0%), S₂ in 50 (25.5%), S₃ in 49 (25.0%) and S₄ in 52 patients(26.5%), with ≥S₂ in 151 (77.0%) and ≥S₃ in 101 (51.5%); plasma GP73 levels in patients with S₁, S₂, S₃ and S₄ were (118.1±30.6) ng/ml, (135.8±39.7) ng/ml, (175.8±54.8) ng/ml and (228.7±74.6)ng/ml, and LSM were (6.1±1.8) kpa, (10.1±2.2) kpa, (15.3±4.5) kpa and (23.0±9.4) kpa, respectively, all significantly higher than (94.0±19.4) ng/ml and (5.4±2.0 ) kpa (P＜0.05) in healthy persons; the cut-off-value of plasma GP73 in diagnosing liver fibrosis ≥S₂, ≥S₃ and equal to S₄ were 127.7 ng/ml, 142.5 ng/ml and 155.6 ng/ml, and that of LSM were 8.8 kPa, 12.6 kPa and 17.9 kPa, and the diagnostic area under ROC of the two combination were 0.917(95% CI:0.875-0.948), 0.954(95% CI:0.920-0.977) and 0.950(95% CI:0.914-0.973), with the sensitivity of 71.5%, 86.1% and 88.5%, the specificity of 94.6%, 95.1% and 89.1%, and accuracy of 96.8%, 92.3% and 90.7%, respectively. Conclusion The application of plasma GP73 level and LSM combination in predicting liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis B and hepatitis C is feasible and simple, which warrants further investigation.

Key words: Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Liver fibrosis, Golgi protein 73, Liver stiffness measurement, Diagnostic trial