Screening for Fatty Liver Disease in People Living With HIV
Uses a non-invasive ultrasound scan to check fatty liver in people with HIV.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Screening and Follow-up in Patients With HIV Infection Combined With Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease
Key facts
- Where
- Beijing, ChinaSee the site
AI summary: who the study is looking for
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for people with HIV/AIDS who are newly on treatment or already treated, who attend regular follow-up visits and take their medicine well.
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- People with AIDS who are newly treated or already treated.
- Earlier treatment
- Newly treated or already treated for AIDS.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Cannot lie flat for the ultrasound exam because of mobility problems
- Poor follow-up or medicine-taking habits
- Patient or family cannot understand the study
- Other conditions the investigator considers unsuitable for the study
This trial only enrols participants living with HIV. The registry sentence this rests on: Newly treated or treated AIDS patients;
Read by machine on 9 November 2026.
Where in China
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College HospitalBeijing, ChinaTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Peking Union Medical College Hospital
- Trial code
- NCT05330923
- Record updated
- 4 June 2026
- Original description
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remains a severe global infectious disease, with over 38 million people living with HIV and around 35 million cumulative deaths worldwide by 2023; approximately 1.24 million HIV-positive individuals and 100,000 new infections are reported annually in China. Widespread use of HAART has prolonged HIV patients' survival and reduced AIDS-related mortality, yet non-AIDS comorbidities dominated by chronic liver disorders, particularly metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), have become a major challenge in long-term HIV management. Triggered by elevated blood lipids from lifestyle, antiretroviral agents and inherited metabolic factors, MAFLD initiates with hepatic steatosis and may progress to NASH, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without timely intervention. HIV-positive patients develop more severe MAFLD progression than HIV-negative counterparts; existing biopsy data shows 91% of ART-treated HIV patients have NAFLD, among whom 65% suffer from NASH complicated with liver fibrosis.Read full original descriptionShow less
Screening and Follow-up in Patients With HIV Infection Combined With Metabolic Associated Fatty Liver Disease
Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) remains a severe global infectious disease, with over 38 million people living with HIV and around 35 million cumulative deaths worldwide by 2023; approximately 1.24 million HIV-positive individuals and 100,000 new infections are reported annually in China. Widespread use of HAART has prolonged HIV patients' survival and reduced AIDS-related mortality, yet non-AIDS comorbidities dominated by chronic liver disorders, particularly metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD), have become a major challenge in long-term HIV management. Triggered by elevated blood lipids from lifestyle, antiretroviral agents and inherited metabolic factors, MAFLD initiates with hepatic steatosis and may progress to NASH, liver fibrosis, cirrhosis and even hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) without timely intervention. HIV-positive patients develop more severe MAFLD progression than HIV-negative counterparts; existing biopsy data shows 91% of ART-treated HIV patients have NAFLD, among whom 65% suffer from NASH complicated with liver fibrosis.
Fatty liver prevalence keeps rising with younger onset age in China, which highlights the necessity of early screening. Liver biopsy, the historical diagnostic gold standard for liver injury grading, is restricted by invasiveness, bleeding risks and poor reproducibility. Transient elastography (TE), a novel non-invasive ultrasonic technique, quantifies hepatic steatosis via the ultrasound attenuation parameter (UAP) and liver fibrosis via liver stiffness measurement (LSM), and has been validated and guideline-endorsed for multiple chronic liver diseases globally. Published foreign data report 35%, 42% and 22% prevalence of NAFLD, NASH and fibrosis in PLWH, while domestic evidence on HIV-associated MAFLD is limited, especially liver-related discrepancies among varied ART regimens. With the implementation of China's new medical insurance policy, numerous patients are shifting from non-INI regimens to once-daily single-tablet INSTI STR regimens, whose hepatic and lipid impacts remain unclear. This study targets early detection of HIV patients with concomitant fatty liver to optimize management strategies and improve clinical outcomes.
Our preliminary cohort at Peking Union Medical College Hospital included 188 virologically suppressed HIV patients on ART, 56.9% (107/188) of whom developed fatty liver (mild:27.1%, moderate:19.7%, severe:10.1%). Liver fibrosis (LSM≥7.3 kPa) was found in 12.8% (24/188) subjects, with 1.1% having advanced cirrhosis, and no significant inter-group difference in fatty liver incidence was noted between INSTI and NNRTI recipients. These findings lay a foundation for early diagnosis and follow-up intervention of metabolic liver disease among HIV-infected populations.
Inclusion: Newly treated or treated AIDS patients; Regular follow-up visits to the hospital, medication compliance is good; Patients or their family members were willing to participate in the study by understanding the study plan and providing written informed consent.
Exclusion: Patients or family members cannot understand the conditions and objectives of the study; Other conditions considered unsuitable for inclusion by the investigator; Unable to complete the position requirements of ultrasonic examination (lying flat) due to mobility difficulties; Patients have poor compliance and cannot follow up regularly or take medicine on time.