scholarly journals Blood ammonia level in chronic liver disease: clinical and pathogenetic importance

2013 ◽  
Vol 94 (5) ◽  
pp. 600-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
A P Akhramovich ◽  
V I Sovalkin

Aim. To evaluate blood ammonia concentration in patients with chronic liver diseases. Methods. 87 patients with chronic liver disease were examined. Ammonia concentration was determined using the enzymatic test. Results. Ammonia concentrations ranged from 18.16 to 118.36 μmol/l (median 43.7 μmol/l). Depending on blood ammonia level, 2 groups of patients were identified: with blood ammonia level below (first group) and above the median level (second group). The first group included 35 (79.5%) patients with liver cirrhosis and 9 (20.5%) patients with chronic hepatitis, the numbers were similar in the second group: 36 (83.7%) and 7 (26.3%) patients correspondingly. Signs of portal gastropathy were identified in 25 (58.1%) and 26 (60.5%) patients correspondingly, while Helicobacter pylori infection was found in 5 (21.7%) and 8 (31.8%) patients with blood ammonia level below and above the median level correspondingly. Mean ammonia concentration in patients with liver cirrhosis and chronic hepatitis, with and without portal gastropathy, with mild and severe gastropathy did not differ significantly. Conclusion. Ammonia blood concentration can not reliably indicate liver failure, hepatic encephalopathy development and stage, portal hypertension and collateral development as well as predict gastric lesions.

Author(s):  
S. V. Stolov ◽  
T. Yu. Yamshchikova ◽  
T. A. Garan ◽  
T. A. Kochergina ◽  
Z. D. Schwazman ◽  
...  

Diagnosis of chronic liver diseases in elderly patients has its own features due to polymorbidity, multiple organ failure, being subtle the course of the disease. The purpose of the study was to identify correlations of inflammation biochemical parameters and hepatocellular failure with histology in chronic hepatitis (CH) and liver cirrhosis (LC) in elderly patients. Materials and methods. The study included medical records of patients with chronic liver disease (CLD) who died in the Clinical Hospital for War Veterans of Saint Petersburg between 2009 and 2015 (with the average age of 81 year). The diagnosis of chronic hepatitis (45 cases) and chronic cirrhosis (54 cases) was confirmed by postmortem examination. Morphological changes in the liver were described according to Knodell creteria. The degree of inflammatory activity in the liver was evaluated in points (0.1 to 3.0) depending on the level of AST, ALT, -globulin, alkaline phosphatase, -GTP, bilirubin. For similar scoring severity hepatocellular insufficiency (0.13.0) considered total protein, albumin, prothrombin index, fibrinogen. For cirrhotic patients the Child-Pugh criteria were also used. Results. Chronic liver disease (CLD) hepatitis and cirrhosis of the elderly is detected in 1,5% of cases. In most cases, CLD develop secondary to diseases of the cardiovascular system, and are accompanied by subtle symptoms, which limits their life-time diagnosis. The integral evaluation of the process activity degree according to biochemical indices was significantly higher in the group of chronic hepatitis than in the group of liver cirrhosis. Correlations of the inflammation bichemical parameters (AST and / or ALT, -globulin, alkaline phosphatase, -GTP) having a degree of Knodell Histological Activity Group chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis have not been established. The study established correlation of histological activity with total bilirubin levels in both groups of CLD. Integral assessment of hepatocellular deficiency by biochemical indicators of liver cirrhosis group was higher than in the group of chronic hepatitis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 08 (11) ◽  
pp. E1623-E1632
Author(s):  
Carlos Robles-Medranda ◽  
Roberto Oleas ◽  
Miguel Puga-Tejada ◽  
Manuel Valero ◽  
Raquel Del Valle ◽  
...  

Abstract Background and study aims Assessment of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS)-elastography of the liver and spleen may identify patients with portal hypertension secondary to chronic liver disease. We aimed to evaluate use of EUS-elastography of the liver and spleen in identification of portal hypertension in patients with chronic liver disease. Patients and methods This was a single-center, diagnostic cohort study. Consecutive patients with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension underwent EUS-elastography of the liver and spleen. Patients without a history of liver disease were enrolled as controls. The primary outcome was diagnostic yield of liver and spleen stiffness measurement via EUS-elastography in prediction of portal hypertension secondary to chronic liver cirrhosis. Cutoff values were defined through Youden’s index. Overall accuracy was calculated for parameters with an area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) curve ≥ 80 %. Results Among the 61 patients included, 32 had cirrhosis of the liver. Liver and spleen stiffness was measured by the strain ratio and strain histogram, with sensitivity/(1 − specificity) AUROC values ≥ 80 %. For identification of patients with cirrhosis and portal hypertension, the liver strain ratio (SR) had a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of 84.3 %, 82.8 %, 84.4 %, and 82.8 %, respectively; the liver strain histogram (SH) had values of 87.5 %, 69.0 %, 75.7 %, and 83.3 %, respectively. EUS elastography of the spleen via the SR reached a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV of 87.5 %, 69.0 %, 75.7 %, and 83.3 %, respectively, whereas the values of SH were 56.3 %, 89.7 %, 85.7 %, and 65.0 %, respectively. Conclusion Endoscopic ultrasonographic elastography of the liver and spleen is useful for diagnosis of portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis.


Author(s):  
João Manuel Silva ◽  
Mário Jorge Silva ◽  
Filipe Calinas ◽  
Paulo Jorge Nogueira

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Liver cirrhosis is a prevalent disease in Portugal. Recent changes in alcohol consumption, as well as the wide use of direct-acting antivirals for hepatitis C since 2015, may be contributing to changes in the national burden of liver cirrhosis in the last few years. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> We aim to characterize the burden of cirrhosis in Portugal between 2010 and 2017. <b><i>Patients and Methods:</i></b> We analyzed all hospital admission episodes due to cirrhosis in Portugal Mainland between 2010 and 2017, registered in the national Diagnosis-Related Group database, according to etiology of cirrhosis. We also analyzed data on mortality and potential years of life lost from liver cirrhosis and chronic liver disease, retrieved from Statistics Portugal (National Institute for Statistics). <b><i>Results:</i></b> Between 2010 and 2017, a total of 51,438 admissions for liver cirrhosis occurred in Portugal. The annual number of admissions decreased (<i>p</i> = 0.044) during the analyzed period. The most frequent cause of cirrhosis was alcoholic liver disease, present in 78.9% of all admissions (<i>n</i> = 40,595), followed by chronic hepatitis C virus infection, present in 11.3% (<i>n</i> = 5,823). A male predominance was identified in the admissions for every analyzed cause of cirrhosis. Annual admissions for alcoholic cirrhosis remained stable (<i>p</i> = 0.075) during the 8-year period. The same stable tendency was observed in the number of admissions for cirrhosis caused by hepatitis C virus (<i>p</i> = 0.861) and alcohol plus hepatitis C virus infection (<i>p</i> = 0.082), although these admissions for hepatitis C-related cirrhosis increased until 2014–2015 and steadily decreased thereafter. Annual deaths due to liver cirrhosis and chronic liver disease decreased from 1,357 in 2010 to 1,038 in 2017 (<i>p</i> = 0.002). The number of potential years of life lost decreased as well in the period (<i>p</i> = 0.001). <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> The burden of cirrhosis, evaluated by hospital admissions, mortality, and potential years of life lost, decreased in Portugal between 2010 and 2017.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 662-672 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelie S. Troschel ◽  
Alexander Miks ◽  
Fabian M. Troschel ◽  
Anna Hüsing-Kabar ◽  
Miriam Maschmeier ◽  
...  

Hepatology ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1271-1275 ◽  
Author(s):  
M W Fried ◽  
Y E Khudyakov ◽  
G A Smallwood ◽  
M Cong ◽  
B Nichols ◽  
...  

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