5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  The WHO has updated guidelines for diagnosing liver fibrosis and cirrhosis in chronic hepatitis B patients.

• 2

  The update is based on a systematic review and meta-analysis of noninvasive tests involving over 61,000 patients.

• 3

  The revised guidelines recommend lower thresholds for APRI and FibroScan to enable earlier detection of liver disease.

• 4

  An APRI score above 0.5 or FibroScan reading above 7.0 kPa identifies most adults with significant liver fibrosis.

• 5

  WHO plans to use the study findings to train health workers and improve treatment access in low- and middle-income countries.