Recently, the World Health Organization published Guidelines for the Prevention, Care and Treatment of Persons with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection recommend the use of the APRI score for the diagnosis of non-invasive cirrhosis. What is the APRI score? The APRI score is an acronym for Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and Platelet (PLT) Ratio Index. Where does the APRI score come from? In the past, the diagnosis of cirrhosis was often determined by ultrasound and laboratory tests combined with clinical manifestations of cirrhosis. By the time cirrhosis is diagnosed by these methods, liver lesions are already very obvious. Doctors can also diagnose liver fibrosis and cirrhosis by classifying the degree of liver fibrosis into 4 levels through liver puncture pathology. However, liver puncture is, after all, an invasive test that can cause pain and cannot be performed repeatedly. In addition, the liver tissue removed by liver puncture only accounts for about 1/50,000 of the entire liver, and the distribution of liver fibrosis is uneven. Doctors have also tried to diagnose liver fibrosis by detecting changes in some fibrin in the serum. But these indicators are too inaccurate and easily affected by lesions in other tissues of the body. How can we reduce the damage to the patient and still make an early assessment of the degree of liver fibrosis? In recent years, scientists have invented a machine that can probe the hardness of the liver outside the body, according to its English name (FibroScan), some Internet users call it “Fibo liver test” or “Fibo liver test”, and some people simply call it “Fibro”. However, this test is not available in all hospitals. What if the easiest way to diagnose and evaluate liver fibrosis and cirrhosis was to use it? The use of aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and platelet (PLT) ratio indices to assess liver fibrosis and cirrhosis was first proposed by an American doctor in 2003. Both aspartate aminotransferase and platelets are frequently performed in patients with liver disease, and it would be so easy to assess the degree of fibrosis and cirrhosis in the liver using only these two indices! After more than a decade of research and validation, this method is accepted by most physicians and recommended by the World Health Organization. How is the APRI score used to diagnose cirrhosis? After years of research, if the APRI score is >2, it predicts that the patient has developed cirrhosis. For example, the test report of a male hepatitis B patient shows AST 80 U/L (normal reference range: 0-40 U/L) and platelets 95×109/L, then his APRI score is: This patient has an APRI score >2, indicating that he may have progressed to the cirrhotic stage. The US-based Hepatitis C online website (Hepatitis C online) has put the formula program for the APRI score directly online. Patients can simply enter their aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and its upper limit of normal and platelet (PLT) test values directly online to get their APRI score. It should be noted that our patients with hepatitis B and C often love to use enzyme-lowering drugs such as biphenyldiphenhydramine, dicyclomine, and pentamidine capsules. These enzyme-lowering drugs have the potential to cause a decrease in ALT and an increase in AST. It is inaccurate to calculate the APRI score in this case, and it is necessary to calculate the APRI score without taking enzyme-lowering drugs.