Abstract: Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of liver cirrhosis by serum microRNA-1273g-3p levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC). Methods 125 patients with CHC were admitted to our hospital between March 2018 and August 2020, and serum microRNA-1273g-3p levels were detected by real-time fluorescent quantitative RT-polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). The Logistic regression analysis was applied to reveal the influencing factors for liver cirrhosis occurrence. The receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC) was drawn to analyze the predictive value of serum microRNA-1273g-3p for liver cirrhosis. Results Out of our series in this study, 42 patients with CHC were found to have liver cirrhosis based on the clinical, blood biochemical and imaging examination; the BMI, blood transfusion history, dyslipidemia, failure to adhere to antiviral treatment and serum microRNA-1273g-3p levels in patients with liver cirrhosis were significantly different compared to those without (all P < 0.05), the disease course in patients with liver cirrhosis was (12.4±2.7) yr, significantly longer than [(8.2±2.1) yr, P < 0.01] in patients without, and serum microRNA-1273g-3p level in the cirrhotics was (2.1±0.5), significantly higher than t [(1.3±0.3), P < 0.01] in patients without liver cirrhosis; the Logistic regression analysis showed that all the parameters mentioned above were the independent risk factors for CHC patients having liver cirrhosis; the ROC analysis showed that the optimal cut-off value of serum microRNA-1273g-3p level was 1.56, and its AUC was 0.844(95%CI:0.768-0.902), with the sensitivity of 78.6%(33/42, 95%CI:73.1%-83.2%), the specificity of 86.8%(72/83, 95%CI:82.5%-90.6%) and the accuracy of 90.4%(113/125, 95%CI:73.1%-83.2%) in predicting the concomitant liver cirrhosis. Conclusion Serum microrna-1273g-3p levels in CHC patients with liver cirrhosis increase, and regular surveillance might help manage the patients and give them an appropriate treatment.

Key words: Hepatitis C, MicroRNA-1273g-3p, Diagnosis