Lesson plan
FibroTest
FibroTest, known as FibroSure in the US, is a biomarker test that uses the results of six blood serum tests to generate a score that is correlated with the degree of liver damage in people with a variety of liver diseases. FibroTest has the same prognostic value as a liver biopsy. FibroSure uses quantitative results of five serum biochemical markers, α2-macroglobulin, haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A1, bilirubin, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), with a patient's age and gender to generate a measure of fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in the liver. FibroTest has been evaluated in relation to liver biopsy (the current reference standard in liver disease assessment) in people with hepatitis C, hepatitis B, alcoholic liver disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. They are most useful for cirrhosis and less useful for other stages of liver disease. By 2008 it had been used in over 350,000 patients. In 2006, the French National Authority for Health recommended the use of FibroTest as one of a number of first-line assessment tool for fibrosis with untreated chronic hepatitis C.
Article summary
FibroTest, known as FibroSure in the US, is a biomarker test that uses the results of six blood serum tests to generate a score that is correlated with the degree of liver damage in people with a variety of liver diseases. FibroTest has the same prognostic value as a liver biopsy. FibroSure uses quantitative results of five serum biochemical markers, α2-macroglobulin, haptoglobin, apolipoprotein A1, bilirubin, gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT), with a patient's age and gender to generate a measure of fibrosis and necroinflammatory activity in the liver. FibroTest has been evaluated in relation to liver biopsy (the current reference standard in liver disease assessment) in people with hepatitis C, hepatitis B, alcoholic liver disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. They are most useful for cirrhosis and less useful for other stages of liver disease. By 2008 it had been used in over 350,000 patients. In 2006, the French National Authority for Health recommended the use of FibroTest as one of a number of first-line assessment tool for fibrosis with untreated chronic hepatitis C.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.