The Diagnostic Value of Liver Biopsy for Unexplained Liver Dysfunction: A Retrospective Study

Figures & data

Table 1 Pathological Results of Liver Biopsy

Etiological Classification	Cases	Proportion
Autoimmune liver disease	74	5.68%
AIH	12	0.92%
PBC	58	4.45%
AIH+PBC	4	0.31%
DILI	204	15.67%
Cancer	237	18.20%
HCC	225	17.28%
HCC + bile duct cancer	12	0.92%
NAFLD	104	7.99%
NASH	74	5.68%
Viral hepatitis	490	37.63%
Hepatitis B	467	35.87%
Hepatitis C	10	0.77%
Hepatitis E	8	0.61%
Unclassified hepatitis	5	0.38%
Other types of hepatitis	30	2.30%
Cholestatic liver disease	17	1.31%
Alcoholic liver disease	15	1.15%
Hepatic cyst	5	0.38%
Gilbert syndrome	4	0.31%
Other	31	2.38%
Unknown disease	17	1.31%

Abbreviations: AIH, Autoimmune hepatitis; PBC, Primary biliary cirrhosis; DILI, Drug-induced liver injury; HCC, Hepatocellular carcinoma; NAFLD, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH, Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Table 2 Gender and Age Distribution Characteristics of Patients

Etiological Classification	Gender		Age (Years)
	Male	Female	11~20	21~30	31~40	41~50	51~60	61~70	71~80
Autoimmune liver disease
AIH	2	10	0	0	0	1	6	4	1
PBC	11	47	0	0	8	13	16	20	1
AIH+PBC	0	4	0	0	0	0	2	2	0
DILI	60	144	2	13	41	46	44	48	10
Cancer
HCC	163	62	0	2	7	31	90	74	21
HCC + bile duct cancer	9	3	2	0	0	0	8	2	0
NAFLD	44	60	0	10	21	27	28	15	3
NASH	38	36	4	14	13	16	12	15	0
Viral hepatitis
Hepatitis B	277	190	4	66	184	105	81	26	1
Hepatitis C	3	7	0	0	2	3	4	1	0
Hepatitis E	6	2	0	0	0	4	3	1	0
Unclassified hepatitis	4	1	0	0	1	1	2	1	0
Other types of hepatitis	10	20	0	0	3	4	14	7	2
Cholestatic liver disease	7	10	0	1	2	5	3	6	0
Alcoholic liver disease	15	0	0	1	1	2	5	3	3
Hepatic cyst	1	4	0	0	0	2	0	3	0
Gilbert syndrome	1	3	0	0	2	0	2	0	0

Abbreviations: AIH, Autoimmune hepatitis; PBC, Primary biliary cirrhosis; DILI, Drug-induced liver injury; HCC, Hepatocellular carcinoma; NAFLD, Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH, Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

Figure 1 Hepatic histopathology image (Magnification 200×). (A) Hepatitis B Cases, (B) Chemical toxic liver injury, (C) Primary biliary cirrhosis, (D) Autoimmune hepatitis, (E) Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, (F) Gilbert syndrome.

Table 3 Comparison of Liver Function Indicators Before and After Liver Biopsy ()

Liver function indicators	GGT/(IU/L)	TBIL/(μmol/L)	ALT/(IU/L)	AST/(IU/L)	ALP/(IU/L)
Before liver biopsy	191.4±192.4	55.7±55.4	113.2±122.1	102.4±123.2	195.7±256.7
After liver biopsy	164.3±171.1	46.7±45.3	93.4±124.1	92.3±114.6	208.1±272.5
t value	0.893	1.158	0.766	0.457	0.030
P value	0.374	0.249	0.445	0.649	0.976

Abbreviations: GGT, serum γ-glutamyl transpeptidase; TBIL, Total bilirubin; ALT, Alanine aminotransferase; AST, Aspartate aminotransferase; ALP, Alkaline phosphatase.