Table 1.
Preoperative characteristics
| C group | E group | |
| n | 133 | 74 |
| Sex (male/female) | 78/55* | 56/18 |
| Age (years) | 60.0 ± 1.3 | 58.9 ± 1.3 |
| Hyperbilirubinaemia | 2 | 0 |
| Hepatitis C virus positive | 13 | 7 |
| Bacterial infection | 1 | 0 |
| Total bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0.8 ± 0.06 | 0.7 ± 0.05 |
| Conjugated bilirubin (mg/dl) | 0.2 ± 0.02 | 0.2 ± 0.01 |
| Alanine aminotransferase (IU/l) | 18 ± 1.9 | 19 ± 2.7 |
| Aspartate aminotransferase (IU/l) | 19 ± 1.9 | 23 ± 1.8 |
| Lactate dehydrogenase (IU/l) | 321 ± 28.8 | 246 ± 15.0 |
| Alkaline phophatase (IU/l) | 122 ± 7.2 | 118 ± 6.0 |
| CRP (mg/dl) | 0.5 ± 0.36 | 0.6 ± 0.39 |
| WBC count (cells/mm3) | 6532 ± 574 | 5799 ± 366 |
Patients in group C were subjected to open-heart surgery; patients in group E were subjected to oesophagectomy. Data are expressed as mean ± standard error. *P<0.05, versus group E patients.