Evaluation of a four-day acth test in the differential diagnosis of jaundice

Effect of corticosteroid therapy on bromsulphthalein excretion in active chronic hepatitis.

“…All of these, however, seem unlikely (Williams and Billing, 1961). A direct effect of corticosteroids on the liver (Katz, Ducci, and Alessandri, 1957;Summerskill, Clowdus, Bollman, and Fleisher, 1961), or an altered or additional metabolic pathway (Chalmers, Gill, Jernigan, Svec, Jordan, Waldstein, and Knowlton, 1956;Williams and Billing, 1961) have also been suggested as an explanation. In the present study, the patient with complete extrahepatic biliary obstruction showed very little change in BSP storage (S) or the serum bilirubin level.…”

Effects of corticosteroids on bilirubin metabolism in patients with Gilbert’s syndrome

“…Adrenal corticosteroids ameliorate jaundice in patients with various liver diseases, i.e., viral hepatitis (1-3) and extrahepatic biliary obstruction (4,5); the mechanism is unknown. Although steroids may enhance alternate metabolic pathways of bilirubin (5)(6)(7)(8), a simplest explanation for the clinical response in hepatitis would be an antiinflammatory action which decreases cellular exudate and edema in the liver parenchyma and increases the excretion of bilirubin.…”