Thyroid Hormonal, Lipidic and Inflammatory Profiles in Patients with Hepatic Encephalopathy

Abstract

Introduction and Objectives. The number of the patients with liver cirrhosis is globally increasing, but the complex mechanisms of the evolution of this disease is not yet completely discovered. The aim of this study is to analyse the thyroid hormone profile in patients with advanced liver cirrhosis and those suffering from hepatic encephalopathy, concomitantly with lipid metabolism disturbance and inflammatory status. The practical purpose of this work is to prevent the onset of hepatic encephalopathy and a better management of the disease in general and encephalopathy in particular, in the foreground.Methods and materials. We study the onset of the encephalopathy and the evolution of it, analysing the seric level of thyroid hormones, inflammatory test and lipidic profiles of the patients with liver cirrhosis. The group under study included 419 cases of patients with liver cirrhosis admitted over the course of a year in Constanta County Hospital, of which a number of 135 presented hepatic encephalopathy.Results. Between 01.03.2022 and 31.03.2023, 419 patients with liver cirrhosis were admitted: 130 women (31.03%) and 289 men (68.97%). A total of 135 patients had hepatic encephalopathy with thyroid TSH (p=0.004), fT4 (p=0.022), T3 (p=0.100), inflammatory ERS (p=0.014), fibrinogen (p=0.121), and lipid cholesterol (p=0.357) profiles. Of 33 patients who died during hospitalization, 26 suffered from encephalopathy.Conclusions. The links between the occurrence of hepatic encephalopathy and the functioning of other systems and organs present a challenge to the clinician. The present study shows that thyroid, lipid and inflammatory biohumoral changes in patients with hepatic encephalopathy may be indicators for an unfavourable prognosis. Attention to these correlations are helpful in monitoring the progression of liver cirrhosis, the occurrence of encephalopathy, and decreasing mortality.