No abstract

SUMMARYBackground: There are few data on the use of the 13 C-aminopyrine breath test to evaluate the severity of disease in patients with hepatitis C virus-related chronic liver disease, although these patients represent one of the most important problems in clinical hepatology. Aims: To compare 13 C-aminopyrine breath test results of patients with hepatitis C virus-related chronic hepatitis and Child±Pugh class A cirrhosis with those of normal subjects, and to evaluate different methods of expressing 13 C-aminopyrine breath test results. Methods: Twenty-four patients with hepatitis C virusrelated chronic hepatitis and 17 patients with Child± Pugh class A cirrhosis underwent 13 C-aminopyrine breath test. Breath samples were collected every 30 min up to 2 h after 13 C-aminopyrine administration. 13 C-Aminopyrine breath test results were expressed as a percentage of the administered dose of 13 C recovered per hour (% dose/h) and the cumulative percentage of administered dose of 13 C recovered over time (% dose cum). Nineteen healthy subjects served as controls. Patients with hepatitis C virus-related chronic hepatitis were divided into subgroups on the basis of histological staging and grading. Results: The 13 C-aminopyrine breath test result (% dose/h) at 30 min was signi®cantly different among the three subgroups of subjects (normal subjects,

No abstract

Adding creatinine values to the CTP slightly improves the prognostic usefulness of the traditional CTP score alone. The MELD score has a short-term prognostic yield that is better than what is provided by both the CTP and CTP creatinine-modified scores, even in cirrhotic patients who are not critically ill. The positive results obtained by using the MELD score were confirmed even after excluding patients with impaired renal function.

In this study we have shown that a progressive decline in liver function in patients with HCV-related CLD is paralleled by a decrease in Tpo production. The different correlations observed between Tpo and the various liver function tests suggests that this finding is mainly the result of a decrease in hepatic functional mass rather than dependent on alteration in splanchnic hemodynamic.