Wang XD, Pan CW, Zhou GY, et al. - In chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients with normal serum alanine aminotransferase levels, transient elastography-measured liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is not significantly affected by liver steatosis.

• This study involved 755 CHB patients with normal serum alanine aminotransferase levels, who underwent vibration-controlled transient elastography and liver biopsy; of these, 286 (37.9%) had liver steatosis.

• Existence of liver steatosis was found to be independently linked with greater body mass index (BMI), and higher serum total cholesterol and triglyceride levels.

• No significant link was found between liver steatosis and fibrosis stage (odds ratio=1.016).

• Factors independently linked with higher LSM included: age, BMI, serum gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase, positivity for HBeAg, as well as liver fibrosis stage, and inflammation activity grade, while there was no significant link between degree of liver steatosis and LSM.

• In cases with the same histologic fibrosis stage, no significant difference in LSM values was seen among those with absent, mild, moderate, or severe steatosis.