Comparison of Pathway Referrals for Liver Fibrosis Risk Stratification Performed in Diabetology and Nutrition Clinics

Cyrielle Caussy (1, 2) , Charlène Telliam (2, 3) , Bader Al-Nuaimi (2) , Marianne Maynard-Muet (4, 5) , Jérôme Dumortier (6, 7) , Fabien Zoulim (5, 4) , Emmanuel Disse (1, 2) , Cyrille Colin (8, 7) , Massimo Levrero (5, 4) , Philippe Moulin (1, 3)

1 CarMeN - Cardiovasculaire, métabolisme, diabétologie et nutrition
2 CHLS - Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud [CHU - HCL]
3 Hôpital Louis Pradel [CHU - HCL]
4 Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse [CHU - HCL]
5 UNICANCER/CRCL - Centre de Recherche en Cancérologie de Lyon
6 Hôpital Edouard Herriot [CHU - HCL]
7 UCBL - Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1
8 HCL - Hospices Civils de Lyon

Purpose: A systematic screening for the presence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)-related advanced fibrosis is currently recommended in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and obesity. However, real-world data of such liver fibrosis risk stratification pathway from diabetology and nutrition clinics towards hepatology clinics are scarce. Therefore, we compared data from two pathways with or without transient elastography (TE) performed in diabetology and nutrition clinics. Patients and Methods: This is a retrospective study comparing the proportion of patients with intermediate/high risk of advanced fibrosis (AF) as defined by a liver stiffness measurement (LSM) ≥ 8kPa, among patients referred in hepatology from two diabetology-nutrition departments at Lyon University Hospital, France between November 1st 2018 to December 31st 2019. Results: Among the two diabetology and nutrition departments using TE or not, 27.5% (62/225) versus 44.2% (126/285) were referred to hepatology, respectively. The pathway using TE in diabetology and nutrition referred to hepatology a higher proportion of patients with intermediate/high risk of AF compared to the pathway without TE: 77.4% versus 30.9%, p< 0.001. In the pathway with TE, the odds of patients with intermediate/high risk of AF referred to hepatology was significantly higher: OR: 7.7, 95% CI: 3.6– 16.7, p< 0.001 after adjustment for age, sex and presence of obesity and T2D compared to the pathway without TE in diabetology and nutrition clinics. However, among the patients not referred, 29.4% had an intermediate/high risk of AF. Conclusion: A pathway-referral using TE performed in diabetology and nutrition clinics, significantly improves the liver fibrosis risk stratification and avoids over-referral. However, collaboration between diabetologist, nutritionists and hepatologists is needed to avoid under-referral.

Mots clés: nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; FibroScan; cirrhosis; transient elastography; obesity; type 2 diabetes; screening

Domaines: Endocrinologie et métabolisme; Hépatologie et Gastroentérologie; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Cyrielle Caussy, Charlène Telliam, Bader Al-Nuaimi, Marianne Maynard-Muet, Jérôme Dumortier, et al.. Comparison of Pathway Referrals for Liver Fibrosis Risk Stratification Performed in Diabetology and Nutrition Clinics. Diabetes, metabolic syndrome and obesity : targets and therapy, 2023, 16, pp.1721-1729. ⟨10.2147/DMSO.S407511⟩. ⟨hal-04165778⟩