Table 1.

PICOS framework

PICOS	Definition
Population	Adult patients with NAFLD or NASH detected via biopsy or other imaging methods
Intervention	TZD or GLP-1RA for at least 3 months
Comparison	Active control (TZD or GLP-1RA) or placebo control
Outcomes	(1) Liver biopsy-based outcomes: NAS, fibrosis stage, and NASH resolution
	(2) Noninvasive technique-based outcomes: liver fat content on 1H-MRS and CAP
	(3) Biological outcomes: ALT, AST, HbA1c, FPG, HOMA-IR, T-Chol, LDL-C, and TG.
	(4) Anthropometric outcomes: BMI and WC
Study design	Randomized controlled trials

PICOS, population, intervention, comparison, outcome, and study design; NAFLD, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; NASH, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis; TZD, thiazolidinedione; GLP-1RA, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist; NAS, nonalcoholic fatty liver activity score; ¹H-MRS, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy; CAP, controlled attenuation parameter; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; AST, aspartate aminotransferase; HbA1c, hemoglobin A1c; FPG, fasting plasma glucose; HOMA-IR, homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; T-Chol, total cholesterol; LDL-C, low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; BMI, body mass index; WC, waist circumference.