A Comparison of 13C-Methacetin and 13C-Octanoate Breath Test for the Evaluation of Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis

Background: While non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a wide-spread liver disease, only some patients progress towards steatohepatitis and cirrhosis. Aim: We comparatively analyzed the methacetin breath test (MBT) for the microsomal function of the liver and the octanoate breath test (OBT) for mitochondrial activity, in detecting patients with steatohepatitis and estimating fibrosis. Methods: 81 patients with histologically proven NAFLD (SAF score) were evaluated. The parameters used for both breath tests were the dose/h and the cumulative dose recovery at multiple timepoints. The statistical association between histological diagnosis and breath test results used Independent Samples t Test. The accuracy for diagnosis was evaluated using area under the receiver operator characteristic (AUROC) and the sensitivity and specificity were assessed using the Youden J method. Results: Both MBT and OBT were able to differentiate patients with simple steatosis from NASH and to stratify patients with significant fibrosis and cirrhosis (p-values < 0.001 for most analyzed timepoints). The best parameter for NASH diagnosis was OBT dose at 30 min. In the case of significant fibrosis, the most accurate test was MBT cumulative dose at 30 min. Conclusions: Both MBR and OBT tests are potentially useful tools in assessing patients with NAFLD.