Impact of liver cirrhosis on nutritional and immunological status.

The aims of the study were to determine the prevalence of protein calorie malnutrition (PCM) in Thai cirrhotic patients and to evaluate nutritional and immunological status in various stages of cirrhosis. Subjective Global Assessment (SGA) and anthropometric measurement were used as nutritional assessment in sixty cirrhotic patients. Delayed-type hypersensitivity skin test, lymphocyte count, immunoglobulin and complement were assessed for immune status. Blood samples were sent for routine tests, prealbumin, thiamine and riboflavin level. There were 7/60 (11.7%) patients with percentage of ideal body weight (%IBW) less than 90 per cent. SGA, hemoglobin, protein indices and cholesterol level showed the deterioration of nutritional status in the late stage of the disease. Five (8.3%) patients with thiamine deficiency, and thirteen (21.7%) patients with riboflavine deficiency were detected. Lowest levels of complement and highest levels of immunoglobulin also occurred in the late stage of the disease. In conclusion, defining %IBW <90 per cent as malnutrition, the prevalence of malnutrition in Thai cirrhotic patients was 11.7 per cent. Nutritional and immunological status deteriorated according to the advanced stage of disease. If nutritional support is given in the early stage, it may improve nutritional status and reduce morbidity and mortality in cirrhotic patients.

Prevalence and outcomes of HBV and anti-HCV seropositive patients with chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma.

The prevalences of serological markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) and antibody to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were determined in 168 patients (135 males and 33 females), aged 19-79 years (mean = 50.8) in Thailand. Of these, 33 had chronic persistent hepatitis, 35 chronic active hepatitis, 50 cirrhosis and 50 hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Seromarkers for either HBV or anti-HCV or both were detected in 140 (83.3%), 3 (1.8%) and 18 (10.7%) patients, respectively, but 7 (4.2%) were sero-negative for both viruses. The overall prevalence of anti-HCV was 12.5% but was significantly lower in HCC (2%) compared to the other 3 groups of liver disease (12-21.5%, p less than or equal to 0.05) and in HBsAg positive (5%) compared to HBsAg negative (30%) patients (p less than 0.001). After 0.5-9 years follow-up of all anti-HCV positive patients, 2 died and another 6 had progressive liver disease. The prevalence of coexistent HBV seromarkers was similar in patients with a progressive (87.5%) and a stable clinical course (92.3%) (p = 0.62). A higher proportion of the anti-HCV-positive patients with a progressive course had a history of blood transfusion [75.0% vs 46.1% (p = 0.20)]. These findings suggest that HBV is the most important etiologic virus associated with chronic liver disease and HCC in Thailand, but HCV may play a role particularly in HBsAg-negative patients.