Significance of AST to ALT Ratio in Predicting Esophageal Varices in Cirrhotic Patients taking Esophagogastroduodenoscopy as Gold Standard
Abstract
Objective: To determine the significance ofAST toALT ratio in predicting esophageal varices taking esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) as the gold standard in cirrhotic patientsMethods
This six-month cross-sectional study included 193 patients. It was conducted in medical ward of DHQ Teaching Hospital, Gujrat from 11th Jul, 2021 to 11th Jan, 2022. Proper history, examination and ultrasound abdomen was done of every patient to make the diagnosis cirrhosis. LFTs and EGD was done of every patient and all data was saved. AST/ALT was calculated and endoscopic presence or absence of esophageal varices was recorded. SPSS 23was used to enter and analyze the data.Results
Mean age (years) was 55.68+13.69, eighty-seven (45.1%) were male and 106 (54.9%) females. There were 74 (38.3%) patients of esophageal varices who had AST/ALT ratio more than > 1.12 and 119 (61.7%) patients with less than 1.12 value. On endoscopy 89 (46.1%) patients had esophageal varices. A 2 by 2 table was utilized to determine the diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, PPV (positive predictive value) and NPV (negative predictive value) of AST to ALT ratio in predicting esophageal varices taking EGD as gold standard which was 65.28%, 54.02%, 74.53%, 63.51% and 66.39% respectively.Conclusion
An effective non-invasive diagnostic tool for predicting esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients is the AST/ALT ratio.Keywords:
Esophageal Varices, Cirrhosis, Upper GI Endoscopy, AST, ALTPublished
2024/08/30
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