Gastroenterology in Minnesota

The ANI is a novel scoring system that is highly accurate in distinguishing alcoholic liver disease (ALD) from nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The ANI may be a useful tool for the frequent clinical scenarios in which it is useful to ascertain an alcohol basis for steatohepatitic liver injury. Short short-term abstinence does not significantly affect the performance characteristics of the ANI therefore the ANI is unlikely to be useful in detecting surreptious alcohol consumption in patients with known ALD. Other liver diseases should first be excluded before utilizing the ANI. The ANI is most accurate when the MELD Score is below 20.