Review for 10.1186/s12876-020-01230-1 (2020)

Reviewer’s report
Title: Causative factors of liver fibrosis in HIV-infected patients. A single center study.
Version: 1 Date: 31 Oct 2019
Reviewer: Mark H. Kuniholm
Reviewer's report:
Table 3 is labeled as "Univariate analysis of study parameters. Only those that achieved statistical
significance are displayed" This title is not particularly informative because it does not mention the
outcome under study - liver fibrosis - which is in this study a binary (yes/no) outcome. Furthermore, in
the footnote of Table 3 the authors  indicate that they are using an r square statistic to consider
associations between continuous participant characteristics (e.g., ALT) and the study outcome (i.e.,
fibrosis - yes/no). This is incorrect. Even when a continuous exposure variable is being considered, the
authors need to use a statistical test for a binary outcome - in this case a t-test would be appropriate. An
r square statistic is calculated to assess the association between two continuous variables.
I do not understand what the authors mean by "The variables associated with higher LS values are
shown on Table 4, this multivariate model had 92.2% concordance." 
Table 4 looks like raw SAS output. Please format the table as appropriate for publication. Also, the
effect estimates shown in Table 4 are surprising and potentially incorrect. For example, an odds ratio of
1.1 (95% CI: 1.0 - 1.2) should not generally have a p-value of 0.0023. The odds ratio for the CD4/CD8
ratio is also surprisingly low: 0.04 (95% CI: 0.003 - 0.540). A continuous variable like CD4/CD8 ratio
generally has an odds ratio slightly above or slightly below 1.0. Table 5 has similar limitations. There
are grammatical errors throughout the manuscript.     
Are the methods appropriate and well described?
If not, please specify what is required in your comments to the authors.
No
Does the work include the necessary controls?
If not, please specify which controls are required in your comments to the authors.
Yes
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the data shown?
If not, please explain in your comments to the authors.
No
Are you able to assess any statistics in the manuscript or would you recommend an
additional statistical review?
If an additional statistical review is recommended, please specify what aspects require further
assessment in your comments to the editors.
I am able to assess the statistics
Quality of written English
Please indicate the quality of language in the manuscript:
Needs some language corrections before being published
Declaration of competing interests
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