Publication:

Lipid profiles of patients as markers for the severity of liver cirrhosis

Background The lipoproteins, endogenous lipids and apolipoproteins are formed in the liver and lipid metabolism, stages of lipid synthesis and transportation are also control by the liver. Degenerated serum lipoprotein pattern can be observed during the acute metabolic impairment in cirrhosis hence, it is reasonable to expect an abnormal lipid profile in those with severe liver dysfunction.

Methods This cross-sectional study was carried out at a tertiary care hospital, in central Rajasthan among 360 cases of cirrhosis of liver from all causes admitted in Medicine and Gastroenterology wards of Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Ajmer. Venous blood sample was collected after overnight fasting of 12 h in all the patients diagnosed with cirrhosis for estimation of hemoglobin, total white blood cell (WBC) count, total platelet count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), random blood sugar, blood urea, serum creatinine, liver function tests and serum lipid profile.

Results The mean high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels were decreasing statistically with increasing model for end stage liver disease (MELD) score while low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and triglyceride (TG) showed no significant association with increasing MELD score. The sensitivity of HDL in detecting the liver cirrhosis at cut off of 19.3 MELD score was estimated to be 93% and specificity of 82.1%.

Conclusions The mean HDL levels were significantly decreasing with increasing MELD score and the study of lipid profile of patients may be an alternate to assess the severity of liver cirrhosis.