ABSTRACT
Procalcitonin [PCT] is a prohormone that has been used as a marker for the diagnosis of bacterial infections. The aim of this study was to survey PCT levels in patients with cirrhosis. Sixty-four patients with hepatic cirrhosis and 32 healthy blood donors were enrolled in this study. Serum PCT levels was detected using immunoluminometric assay. The rate of positive PCT was higher in patients with hepatitis C cirrhosis [92.8%] than the other groups. Among other cirrhotic patients, positive PCT levels were 77% for hepatitis B, 70% for cancer and 53.3% for unknown groups respectively. Serum procalcitonin levels were significantly higher in cirrhotic patients with bacterial infection [2.65 +/- 1.11 ng/ml] than those without infection [0.59 +/- 0.16 ng/ml, P=0.0001]. PCT assay in cirrhotic patients may help diagnosis of sepsis and reduce unnecessary antibiotic use
ABSTRACT
H.pylori infection increases the risk of peptic ulcer in cirrhotic patients. The role of H.pylori in inducing peptic ulcer disease in chronic liver disease patients remains controversial. The objective was to see if etiology of peptic ulcer in cirrhotic patients is related to H.pylori infection. Sixty cirrhotic patients were enrolled in the study. Peptic ulcer was detected in patients by means endoscope. Sera from patients were tested for Helicobacter pylori antibodies by a commercial ELISA kit. t student and fisher test was used for statistical analysis. Active peptic ulcer was detected in nine cirrhotic patients. Of the nine patients with peptic ulcer eight [88.9%] tested positive for Helicobacter pylori antibodies and of the remaining 51 patients, 31[60.8%] tested positive for Helicobacter pylori antibodies. Helicobacter pylori infections in our series of cirrhotic patients with peptic ulcer seems to show the same pattern as described in cirrhotic patients without peptic ulcer [P=0.078]. The suggestion that the etiology of the peptic ulcer in cirrhotic patients could be related to Helicobacter pylori infection was not confirmed by our study