ABSTRACT… Objectives:To assess the diagnostic validity of FIB-4 for predicting hepatic fibrosis in patients of chronic hepatitis C genotype 3. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Isra University Hospital, Hyderabad through convenient sampling. Period: June 2013 to June 2014. Methods: Diagnostic validity of FIB-4 index for predicting hepatic fibrosis was determined by measuring sensitivity, specificity, positive productive, negative predictive value, and compared these parameters with liver biopsy. The liver histology was determined by METAVIR score. Results: A total 115 patients were enrolled with mean and SD of age was 39.6 ± 9.3 years. Dividing FIB-4 index into three categories as <1.45, 1.45 -3.25, and >3.25; by using the Obuchowski method the AUROC was 0.93 (with 95% CI 0.91, 0.95). When dividing the FIB-4 index in to three categories as <1.45, 1.45 -<2.25 and >2.25; the AUROC by using Obuchowski method was 0.87 (with 95% CI 0.83, 0.91). Similarly for the diagnosis of Cirrhosis (F = 4 METAVIR) on the predictive value of the non-invasive test FIB-4 while using Obuchowski method the AUROC was 0.85 (with 95% CI 0.83, 0.87). Conclusion: The FIB-4 index is a simple, inexpensive, non-invasive, and a quick test for predicting liver fibrosis in patients of chronic Hepatitis C genotype 3. Key words:Liver biopsy, Metavir, Non-invasive, Cirrhosis, Fibrosis, Pakistan.

Objectives: To assess the diagnostic validity of FIB-4 for predicting hepaticfibrosis in patients of chronic hepatitis C genotype 3. Study Design: Cross-sectional study.Setting: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Isra University Hospital, Hyderabadthrough convenient sampling. Period: June 2013 to June 2014. Methods: Diagnostic validity ofFIB-4 index for predicting hepatic fibrosis was determined by measuring sensitivity, specificity,positive productive, negative predictive value, and compared these parameters with liverbiopsy. The liver histology was determined by METAVIR score. Results: A total 115 patientswere enrolled with mean and SD of age was 39.6 ± 9.3 years. Dividing FIB-4 index into threecategories as <1.45, 1.45 - 3.25, and >3.25; by using the Obuchowski method the AUROC was0.93 (with 95% CI 0.91, 0.95). When dividing the FIB-4 index in to three categories as <1.45,1.45 - <2.25 and >2.25; the AUROC by using Obuchowski method was 0.87 (with 95% CI 0.83,0.91). Similarly for the diagnosis of Cirrhosis (F = 4 METAVIR) on the predictive value of thenon-invasive test FIB-4 while using Obuchowski method the AUROC was 0.85 (with 95% CI0.83, 0.87). Conclusion: The FIB-4 index is a simple, inexpensive, non-invasive, and a quicktest for predicting liver fibrosis in patients of chronic Hepatitis C genotype 3.