- A scoring system for the diagnosis of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis from liver biopsy
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Kyoungbun Lee, Eun Sun Jung, Eunsil Yu, Yun Kyung Kang, Mee-Yon Cho, Joon Mee Kim, Woo Sung Moon, Jin Sook Jeong, Cheol Keun Park, Jae-Bok Park, Dae Young Kang, Jin Hee Sohn, So-Young Jin
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J Pathol Transl Med. 2020;54(3):228-236. Published online April 15, 2020
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2020.03.07
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 Abstract
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- Background
Liver biopsy is the essential method to diagnose non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), but histological features of NASH are too subjective to achieve reproducible diagnoses in early stages of disease. We aimed to identify the key histological features of NASH and devise a scoring model for diagnosis.
Methods
Thirteen pathologists blindly assessed 12 histological factors and final histological diagnoses (‘not-NASH,’ ‘borderline,’ and ‘NASH’) of 31 liver biopsies that were diagnosed as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) or NASH before and after consensus. The main histological parameters to diagnose NASH were selected based on histological diagnoses and the diagnostic accuracy and agreement of 12 scoring models were compared for final diagnosis and the NAFLD Activity Score (NAS) system.
Results
Inter-observer agreement of final diagnosis was fair (κ = 0.25) before consensus and slightly improved after consensus (κ = 0.33). Steatosis at more than 5% was the essential parameter for diagnosis. Major diagnostic factors for diagnosis were fibrosis except 1C grade and presence of ballooned cells. Minor diagnostic factors were lobular inflammation ( ≥ 2 foci/ × 200 field), microgranuloma, and glycogenated nuclei. All 12 models showed higher inter-observer agreement rates than NAS and post-consensus diagnosis (κ = 0.52–0.69 vs. 0.33). Considering the reproducibility of factors and practicability of the model, summation of the scores of major (× 2) and minor factors may be used for the practical diagnosis of NASH.
Conclusions
A scoring system for the diagnosis of NAFLD would be helpful as guidelines for pathologists and clinicians by improving the reproducibility of histological diagnosis of NAFLD.
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Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by  - Preclinical liver toxicity models: Advantages, limitations and recommendations
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- Interobserver Agreement on Pathologic Features of Liver Biopsy Tissue in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
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Eun Sun Jung, Kyoungbun Lee, Eunsil Yu, Yun Kyung Kang, Mee-Yon Cho, Joon Mee Kim, Woo Sung Moon, Jin Sook Jeong, Cheol Keun Park, Jae-Bok Park, Dae Young Kang, Jin Hee Sohn, So-Young Jin
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J Pathol Transl Med. 2016;50(3):190-196. Published online April 18, 2016
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4132/jptm.2016.03.01
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12,045
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259
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27
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Abstract
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- Background
The histomorphologic criteria for the pathological features of liver tissue from patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remain subjective, causing confusion among pathologists and clinicians. In this report, we studied interobserver agreement of NAFLD pathologic features and analyzed causes of disagreement.
Methods
Thirty-one cases of clinicopathologically diagnosed NAFLD from 10 hospitals were selected. One hematoxylin and eosin and one Masson’s trichrome-stained virtual slide from each case were blindly reviewed with regard to 12 histological parameters by 13 pathologists in a gastrointestinal study group of the Korean Society of Pathologists. After the first review, we analyzed the causes of disagreement and defined detailed morphological criteria. The glass slides from each case were reviewed a second time after a consensus meeting. The degree of interobserver agreement was determined by multi-rater kappa statistics.
Results
Kappa values of the first review ranged from 0.0091–0.7618. Acidophilic bodies (k = 0.7618) and portal inflammation (k = 0.5914) showed high levels of agreement, whereas microgranuloma (k = 0.0984) and microvesicular fatty change (k = 0.0091) showed low levels of agreement. After the second review, the kappa values of the four major pathological features increased from 0.3830 to 0.5638 for steatosis grade, from 0.1398 to 0.2815 for lobular inflammation, from 0.1923 to 0.3362 for ballooning degeneration, and from 0.3303 to 0.4664 for fibrosis.
Conclusions
More detailed histomorphological criteria must be defined for correct diagnosis and high interobserver agreement of NAFLD.
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Citations
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