Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is the most prevalent chronic liver disease in the world and was recently renamed to emphasize its metabolic component.
This article seeks to fill the gap in specific guidelines for patients with obesity and MASLD who will undergo bariatric surgery.
A systematic search for guidelines was carried out on PubMed and Embase platforms.
A total of 544 articles were found, of which 11 were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. All 11 guidelines are from clinical societies; therefore, they do not include some necessary interpretations for bariatric patients.
We recommend that every patient undergoing bariatric and metabolic surgery be screened initially with the Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score, followed by transient hepatic elastography (vibration-controlled transient elastography, VCTE), especially for those with FIB-4>1.3. However, interpreting VCTE results in obese patients requires further studies to define the actual cutoff values. Enhanced Liver Fibrosis® shows promise but its availability is limited. The indication for liver biopsy during surgery needs to be individualized but it is recommended for those with changes in FIB-4 and/or VCTE. Family screening is recommended for relatives of young patients with already advanced fibrosis. Liver transplantation is an option for patients with advanced MASLD but the optimal timing for bariatric surgery with transplantation is still unclear. Regular follow-up and VCTE examination are recommended to monitor disease progression after surgery.
Obesity is an epidemic and chronic disease that can bring other comorbidities to the patient. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is present in up to 90% of these patients and can progress to hepatitis and hepatocarcinoma. The relationship of this liver disease and obesity is already well known; however, it is possible that some parameters of the comorbidities are more related than others in the pathophysiology of the disease.
Was analyzed the relationship between non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and the comorbidities of metabolic syndrome in morbidly obese patients.
Was involved ultrasonography and laboratory assessment of obese patients before bariatric surgery. NAFLD was assessed using the same sonography parameters for all patients. Based on the results, the patients were divided into groups with and without NAFLD. Comparisons between them involved clinical and laboratory variables such as fasting blood glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR (homeostasis model assessment - insulin resistance), glycated hemoglobin, total cholesterol and fractions, triglycerides, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma glutamyl transferase, C-reactive protein, albumin and ferritin. Patients who reported alcohol abuse (defined as the consumption of >14 drinks per week) or who had hepatitis were excluded.
Eighty-two patients (74 women and 8 men) were studied, of whom 53 (64.6%) had NAFLD and 29 (35.4%) did not. The levels of glycated hemoglobin (p=0.05) and LDL cholesterol (p=0.01) were significantly altered in patients with NAFLD. However, weight, body mass index and excess weight did not differ significantly between the groups (p=0.835, p=0.488 and p=0.727, respectively).
Altered LDL cholesterol and glycated hemoglobin levels were related to the presence of NAFLD.
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is considered a public health problem, mainly in severely obese patients.
The aim of the present study was to investigate different biochemical-based scores available and determine which one could best serve as an NAFLD predicting tool in a severely obese population.
This was a cross-sectional study involving severely obese patients. All patients were evaluated with serum laboratory parameters for 1 week before biopsy, and all patients were treated with intraoperative liver biopsy, during bariatric surgery.
A total of 143 severely obese patients were included. The median body mass index (BMI) was 48 kg/m2 (35-65). Diabetes mellitus was present in 36%, and steatosis was present in 93% (severe steatosis in 20%). Only aspartate transaminase (AST) to platelet ratio index (APRI=0.65 (95% CI: 0.55-0.8) and homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR=0.7 (95% CI: 0.58-0.82) showed significant capacity for the prediction of severe steatosis. Hepatic steatosis index (HSI), NAFLD fibrosis score (NAFLDS), alanine aminotransferase (ALT)/AST, and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) were not able to correctly predict severe steatosis on liver biopsy. APRI showed high specificity of 82% and low sensitivity of 54%. In contrast, HOMA-IR showed high sensitivity of 84% and low specificity of 48%.
NAFLDS, FIB-4, AST/ALT, and HSI have no utility for the evaluation of severe steatosis in severely obese patients. Diabetes and insulin-resistance-related biochemical assessments, such as HOMA-IR, can be used as good screening tools for severe steatosis in these patients. APRI score is the most specific biochemical diagnostic tool for steatosis in severely obese patients and can help clinicians to decide the need for bariatric or metabolic surgery.
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