[Morphological liver function tests in certain hepatic diseases during life].
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Liver function tests were carried out in 206 adults and children taking anticonvulsants to ascertain the prevalence of biochemical abnormalities in asymptomatic patients. It was observed that serum gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase was elevated in 74.6% of patients, alkaline phosphatase in 29.7% and alanine aminotransferase in 25.2% of cases. These figures are similar to those previously reported in the literature and probably reflect hepatic enzyme induction by the anticonvulsants. It is suggested that there is no value in the routine performance of liver function tests in patients with epilepsy. However, such patients should be informed of the symptoms of hepatic dysfunction and asked to report for liver function tests should they have such symptoms.
54 patients have been studied after paracetamol (acetaminophen) overdose. Liver-function tests and fasting serum bile-acids were measured daily; liver biopsy was done in all cases, and slides were examined "blind" to assess liver damage. The plasma-paracetamol was measured on one occasion. A histological abnormality was present in the livers of 53 of the 54 patients, and was minor in 23, moderate in 16, and severe in 14. In 6 patients with moderate and 18 with mild histological abnormality liver-function tests were normal. A serum-aspartate-aminotransferase above 400 units/1 was always associated with severe histological liver damage. Fasting serum bile-acids were raised in 51 of the patients with abnormal liver histology; the serum-bile-acid seemed to be a more sensitive indicator of mild liver-cell damage than was the transaminase level. There was, however, little correlation between increase in bile-acid concentration and the degree of histological abnormality. As a result of these investigations empirically determined levels of plasma-paracetamol have been drawn which give a guide to the likelihood of liver damage after paracetamol overdose.
Liver function tests are used to detect, specifically diagnose, and estimate the severity of hepatic disease. Effective interpretation of the hepatic function panel requires knowledge of underlying pathophysiology and the characteristics of panel tests. This article includes a working classification of liver disease, a list of liver functions with the tests appropriate to each function, and a guide to panel interpretation and further laboratory investigation.
I evaluated the diagnostic value of routinely ordered liver-function tests in 175 biopsy-proven cases of hepatic disease by use of stepwise discriminant analysis. The tests studied-total and "direct" bilirubin, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and aspartate aminotransferase-correctly classified 45-73% of cases, depending on the homogeneity of the diagnostic groups. Aspartate aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase were the best discriminators. When all tests were used in the most homogeneous groups (tumors, cirrhosis, and hepatitis), there was a stepwise improvement in diagnostic accuracy from 51 to 73%.
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Abnormalities in liver function tests (LFT) during pregnancy are a commonly encountered problem often associated with serious consequences especially when it occurs in the third trimester. The spectrum of abnormal liver functions in pregnancy can be fairly wide and diagnostic work up often challenging. There is insufficient prospective data on the spectrum and outcome of liver disease in pregnant population from south India. This study was performed to assess the causes of deranged liver function in the pregnant population and also to prospectively determine the outcome of liver dysfunction in pregnancy. All abnormal LFT results observed in serum samples from pregnant patients attending the obstetric unit of our hospital from January 2003 to January 2005 were evaluated and prospectively followed throughout pregnancy. Laboratory investigations included coagulation profile, renal function tests, serology for viral markers (HBsAg, anti-HCV, IgM anti-HEV and IgM anti-HAV) and other relevant biochemical tests. In those with liver dysfunction in the third trimester the maternal and perinatal outcome was evaluated. A total of 125 patients were identified with abnormalities in LFT results during this period. The majority of causes were related to pregnancy specific conditions (57.6%). Most episodes of abnormal LFT occurred in the third trimester (59.2%). Hyperemesis gravidarum (55.8%) and viral hepatitis (47%) were the most common causes of abnormal LFT in the first and second trimesters respectively. HELLP (28.3%) and AFLP (14.8%) were the most common causes of abnormal LFT in the third trimester. There were no mAternal deaths due to liver dysfunction in the first or second trimester. Liver dysfunction in the third trimester (74 patients) was associated with serious consequences. DIC was the most common complication (20.2%). The overall and perinatal mortality was 20.2% and 24.6% respectively. AFLP and HELLP syndromes were associated with poor maternal and fetal outcome. We conclude that liver dysfunctions were directly related to pregnancy in the majority of patients especially in the third namely trimester. Incidence of the most serious conditions AFLP and HELLP syndromes is much greater than what has been reported and is often associated with a high maternal mortality and poor perinatal outcome.
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Abdominal ultrasound examination is so easy that it may be overused. To reduce medical costs, we investigated whether preoperative ultrasonic abdominal survey was necessary for oncologic patients with normal liver function tests. We used the ultrasound diagnosis as the final standard to test the value of liver function tests for the prediction of liver metastases. Five hundred forty-four patients with various primary malignancies were referred for preoperative ultrasonic survey of the abdomen. The results showed that for a single test, serum albumin was most sensitive (87.2%) but least specific (29.4%), and serum bilirubin was least sensitive (13.0%) but most specific (97.2%), for the prediction of liver metastases. For a combination of five tests or more, the sensitivity was 95.9% and the specificity 29.5%. In patients with normal liver function tests, liver metastases were detected by ultrasound in two of 106 (1.9%) patients. One hundred of 544 (18.4%) patients having major abnormalities that may influence clinical management were also detected during the ultrasound examination. We conclude that ultrasound is convenient, cheap, and without side effects. It can provide additional information affecting patient management, even in the presence of normal liver function tests.
This was an open comparative trial of two types of hormonal contraceptives, a low-dose combined oral contraceptive and the injectable depot-medroxyprogerone acetate, with a control group using an intrauterine device (copper T-380). Clients were recruited from bilharzial patients attending the maternal-child health and family centers affiliated with the National Liver Institute. Clients with compensated bilharzial liver disease were chosen and were divided into three subgroups according to their own preference for the method of contraception. Baseline, 2-, and 4-months liver function tests were compared, and abdominal ultrasound scanning of the liver was done. There was a nonsignificant change in liver function tests, and the portal vein diameter measured by ultrasound scanning was not changed with steroidal contraceptives. The use of combined oral contraceptive containing low-dose estrogen or using depot medroxyprogertone acetate injectables are safe and can be prescribed in cases with compensated bilharzial hepatic fibrosis with normal function.
A frequent issue confronting the medical scientist is the detection of important prognostic variables, or covariates, that affect the outcome variable. In this paper we propose specific guidelines for the analysis of binary outcome data based on recent developments in statistical methodology and on less formal graphical techniques. By incorporating these methods into the process of fitting the standard logistic regression model, one can assess covariate selection and model specification more thoroughly and obtain a more balanced view of a model's predictive capabilities. We apply the methods to the evaluation of non-invasive liver function tests and age to predict the presence of liver metastases in patients with small cell lung cancer.
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In case of abnormal liver function tests, it's necessary to distinguish different situations, starting from this first data. We will successively consider: the high and moderate acute increases of aminotransferase, the chronic increases of aminotransferase, the isolated cholestase picture and the isolated increases of gamma GT or of bilirubine. We will finish with a partial survey about drug-induced liver diseases.
Postprandial sera of seventy patients with liver disease (hepatitis 30, cirrhosis 19, liver cancer 21) were analysed for total serum bile acids. The mean values observed in hepatitis (169.0 mumol/L), cirrhosis (112.15) and liver cancer (86.44) were significantly higher (p less than 0.001) than in normal (19.45). The frequency of abnormal bile acids was greater than that of the standard liver function tests except for alkaline phosphatase in liver cancer.
We evaluated risk factors for elevation of liver function test values after administration of fenofibrate to 45 hyperlipidemic patients. The effects of 23 factors of physical examinations, clinical laboratory test values, and the background of the patients on the elevation of liver function test values were analyzed by the logistic regression method. The increase of the values of liver function tests was found to be correlated with BMI, serum levels of triglycerides, and ALP before therapy, especially sex, serum gamma-GTP level before therapy and reduced serum triglyceride levels. These results suggest that caution must be exercised to avoid liver dysfunction in patients treated with fenofibrate.