Background and study aim : Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is a major global health problem with its consequences of liver fibrosis and cirrhosis. Liver fibrosis is the main predictor of the progression of chronic hepatitis C, and its assessment can help determine therapy. Several indices are available to predict cirrhosis. The fibrosis – cirrhosis index (FCI) was proposed  to be efficient for none invasive staging of liver fibrosis besides being simple and inexpensive. This study is designed to assess  the accuracy of the fibrosis-cirrhosis index (FCI) for non-invasive staging of liver fibrosis in patients with chronic hepatitis C compared to the liver biopsy findings.
Patients and methods: This study was conducted on 150 chronic hepatitis C patients who attended the Hepatology, Gastroenterology and Infectious Diseases Department at Benha University Hospital and El Mansoura Health-Insurance Hospital. Another group of 30 healthy subjects (with negative hepatitis viral markers) represented the control group.
Results: FCI was a relatively sensitive, specific and accurate marker of fibrosis. At a cutoff value of < 0.12, FCI had a NPV of 81.7% for the exclusion of significant fibrosis, while at cutoff value > 0.19 it had a PPV of 82.5% for the diagnosis of advanced fibrosis.
Conclusion: FCI is a simple index that integrates ALP, bilirubin, albumin and platelet count for staging fibrosis from absent up to cirrhosis.