Published online Oct 15, 1998. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v4.iSuppl2.52
Revised: July 16, 1998
Accepted: August 9, 1998
Published online: October 15, 1998
AIM: To understand the role of nutritional status in cirrhotic patients without clinical porto-systemic encephalopathy (PSE).
METHODS: We prospectively studied 51 non-alcoholic patients with cirrhosis without PSE (mean age: 58 ± 11 years; M: 29, F: 22) to compare with 20 healthy volunteers. The nutritional evaluation included serum prealbumin, albumin, transferrin, body mass index (BMI), mid-arm muscle circumference (MAMC) , and grip power. The occurrence of sub.clinical PSE (SPSE) was defined as when N20-N65 inter-peak latencies of median nerve-stimulated somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) greater than 2.5 standard deviations of control means. Blood chemistries were tested within 12 h of SEP testing and nutritional evaluation.
RESULTS: Twenty-five, 17 and nine cirrhotic patients were grade d as Child-Pugh class A, B and C, respectively. Twenty-four (47.1%) cirrhotic patients developed SPSE. Cirrhotic patients with SPSE had lower serum albumin (2.8 ± 0.5 g/dL vs 3.1 ± 0.7 g/dL, P < 0.001) levels than those without SPSE. Prealbumin (10.6 ± 5.7 mg/dL vs 12.5 ± 5.8 mg/dL)，transferrin (164 ± 46 mg/dL vs 178 ± 58 mg/dL), BMI (23.7 ± 2.7 kg/m2vs 25.3 ± 3.6 kg/m2), MAMC (22.2 ± 2.6 cm vs 22.7 ± 3.5 cm), and grip power (26.3 ± 6.4 kg vs 26.9 ± 6.8 kg) were not different between cirrhotic patients with and without SPSE. N20-N65 inter-peak latencies correlated with serum albumin levels (P = 0.01) but not with prealbumin, transferrin, BMI, MAMC, or grip power. Serum albumin, prealbumin and transferrin levels were different among cirrhotic patients in Child-Pugh classes A, B and C (P < 0.05). BMI，MAMC, and grip power were not different a mong patients in Child-Pugh classes A, B and C.
CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that serum is a simple test in the evaluation of nutritional status in patients with cirrhosis.