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The Availability of the Enhanced Liver Fibrosis (ELF) Test Affects the Rate of Diagnosis of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH) With Fibrosis in Patients Referred to Hepatology

NCT05370053 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 450

Last updated 2026-05-11

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Background: During the hepatology evaluation, vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE) is often used as a clinical decision aid to target high-risk patients for liver biopsy. The enhanced liver fibrosis (ELF) test is expected to be approved in the US. We tested the hypothesis that making the ELF results available to the treating hepatologist will result in more appropriate and targeted use of liver biopsy in patients with elevated liver enzymes or fatty liver, and will result in more cases of advanced fibrosis/cirrhosis being diagnosed. Methods: During the hepatology evaluation for elevated liver enzymes or fatty liver at the University of Kansas Medical Center, the hepatologists (8 total) make a clinical decision on whether patients shall receive VCTE. At the end of the clinic visit, patients were enrolled and randomized to receiving an ELF test. Patients with liver biopsy within the last five years or decompensated cirrhosis were excluded. The primary outcome is the rate of a diagnosis of F3-4 fibrosis based on liver biopsy or clinical diagnosis of cirrhosis with the initiation of hepatocellular carcinoma surveillance. Four hundred fifty patients are to be enrolled over two years.

Conditions

Interventions

DIAGNOSTIC_TEST

ELF Test

Patients receive ELF testing (a blood draw) and their hepatologist receives the result within a week.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Gilead Sciences

    collaborator INDUSTRY

  • University of Kansas Medical Center

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SCREENING
Masking
NONE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2020-09-01
Primary Completion
2022-12-01
Completion
2022-12-01

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

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Entities

Diseases
Companies

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05370053 on ClinicalTrials.gov