The Value of the ALBI and ALBI–PLT Scores in Predicting Esophageal Varices in Cirrhotic Patients: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Background and Aims Esophageal varices (EVs) are a common and life‐threatening complication of liver cirrhosis. Endoscopic screening is recommended but remains invasive and resource‐intensive. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the albumin–bilirubin (ALBI) and ALBI–platelet (ALBI–PLT) scores for predicting the presence of esophageal varices in cirrhotic patients. Methods This cross‐sectional study included 152 patients with liver cirrhosis who underwent screening endoscopy at Cho Ray Hospital between November 2022 and May 2023. ALBI and ALBI–PLT scores were calculated from routine laboratory parameters. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate diagnostic performance. Results Among 152 cirrhotic patients (mean age 56 years, 65.8% male), the prevalence of EVs was 56%. The ALBI score showed moderate predictive performance for EVs (AUC 0.78; 95% CI 0.70–0.84) and varices needing treatment (AUC 0.79). The ALBI–PLT score demonstrated similar performance (AUC 0.76 and 0.77, respectively). Using a cutoff of ALBI > −2.76, 20.4% of patients could potentially avoid screening endoscopy, with 9.7% of varices needing treatment missed. Conclusion ALBI and ALBI–PLT scores may serve as simple non‐invasive triage tools to identify low‐risk cirrhotic patients who may safely defer screening endoscopy, particularly in resource‐limited settings.