Does a stiff liver mark a calcified artery?
A multicentre study across India asking whether liver fibrosis on transient elastography is independently associated with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis on calcium scoring, in patients with type 2 diabetes and no known coronary disease. Every test is one the patient has already had. Nothing is done for the study.
Who to enrol
Include
- Type 2 diabetes, on treatment or meeting ADA/WHO criteria
- Men aged 40 and above, women aged 45 and above
- At least one of dyslipidaemia or hypertension, treated or untreated
- FibroScan and calcium score already done as clinical care
- CT within three months of the FibroScan, either side
- Blood tests within three months of the FibroScan; blood count and liver panel from the same draw or within a month
Exclude
- Known coronary disease: prior infarction, angioplasty, bypass or documented CAD
- Heart failure, or prior cardiac surgery including prosthetic valves
- Hazardous alcohol use by AUDIT-C, 4 or more in men, 3 or more in women
- HBsAg or anti-HCV positive
- Decompensated liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, prior transplant
- Unreliable FibroScan: fewer than 10 valid shots, or IQR/median above 30% at 7.1 kPa or more
What you upload
Photograph
FibroScan printout, CT calcium report, blood reports, prescription. Phone camera is fine. Images are shrunk on your phone before upload, so it is quick on mobile data.
The platform reads
Values, dates and the patient's name are pulled from each report and shown to you next to the document they came from. Scores are calculated. Dates and names are checked.
You confirm
Correct anything misread, add height, weight, waist and blood pressure if the prescription does not carry them, tap confirm. Under three minutes.
Credit and conduct
Authorship
30 verified patients earns co-authorship on the primary paper. Below that, you are named in the acknowledgements. Order follows verified enrolment.
Independence
Investigator-initiated and unfunded. No industry involvement in design, data or publication. No payment to investigators, no charge to patients.
Privacy
Reports carry the patient's name so each record can be shown to belong to a real, unique patient. Names are visible only to named verifiers, then masked. No identifier reaches the analysis dataset.
Joining
Write to the coordinating centre with your name, institution, city, and whether calcium scoring is available at or near your hospital.