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COMPARATIVE SENSITIVITY OF SERUM CHOLYLGLYCINE CONCENTRATION AND BROMSULPHALEIN RETENTION IN PATIENTS WITH EARLY AND LATE ALCOHOLIC LIVER DISEASE
Author(s) -
BARNES P.,
LUNZER M.,
O'HALLORAN M.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.596
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-5994
pISSN - 0004-8291
DOI - 10.1111/j.1445-5994.1986.tb00037.x
Subject(s) - medicine , alcoholic liver disease , sulfobromophthalein , albumin , liver disease , liver function tests , prothrombin time , alcoholic hepatitis , endocrinology , gastroenterology , serum albumin , liver function , cirrhosis
Measurement of serum bile acids has been claimed to be a sensitive and specific biochemical test of hepatic function. We have prospectively measured post‐prandial serum glycocholate (cholylglycine) concentrations in 31 patients with alcoholic liver disease and compared these measurements with those of bromsulphalein (BSP) retention, prothrombin time, and serum albumin. In the patients with early (non‐cirrhotic) alcoholic liver disease ( N = 14) BSP retention was abnormal significantly more frequently than was serum cholylglycine concentration (100% vs 29%, p < 0.001). In contrast, amongst patients with late (cirrhotic) alcoholic liver disease, BSP retention and serum cholylglycine were abnormal with equal frequency (94%). In both groups of patients BSP retention and serum cholylglycine were abnormal significantly more often than were prothrombin time and serum albumin concentrations. We conclude that moderately severe hepatocellular dysfunction is required before serum cholylglycine can become a reliable biochemical indicator of liver disease.