Table 3. Clinical chemistry data for a subset of patients with hepatitis A, B, and C.
| % Patients with pathological finding (mean of pathological values [mg/dl or U/l])a | |||||||||
| Parameter | Pathological rangeb | Acute hepatitis A (n = 11) | Acute hepatitis B (anti-HBc IgM +ve) (n = 13) | Presumed chronic hepatitis B (anti-HBc IgM −ve) (n = 30) | Presumed chronic hepatitis C (n = 13) | ||||
| Total protein | >8.0 g/dl | 55 | 15 | 20 | 31 | ||||
| Total protein | <5.5 g/dl | 18 | 23 | 33 | 15 | ||||
| Albumin | <3.5 g/dl | 55 | 92 | 77 | 92 | ||||
| Total bilirubin | >1.0 mg/dl | 45 | (14) | 62 | (7.5) | 30 | (4.2) | 15 | (8.5) |
| AST | >35 U/l | 91 | (369) | 85 | (630) | 50 | (258) | 77 | (278) |
| ALT | >35 U/l | 36 | (194) | 46 | (303) | 7 | (169) | 8 | (1838) |
| LDH | >190 U/l | 55 | (737) | 62 | (839) | 57 | (519) | 85 | (1477) |
| Amylase | >180 U/l | 27 | (279) | 15 | (348) | 3 | (256) | – | – |
| Creatinine | >1.5 mg/dl | 27 | (2.9) | 8 | (3.4) | 7 | (2.0) | 8 | (2.4) |
| Urea nitrogen | >20 mg/dl | – | – | 31 | (40) | 20 | (36) | 38 | (34) |
| ≥2 Pathological findingsc | 73 | 100 | 60 | 85 | |||||
Inclusion in this analysis depended on the availability of sufficient amount of serum. Statistical analysis was not performed. There are no missing values.
Abbreviations: AST, aspartate aminotransferase; ALT, alanine aminotransferase; LDH, lactate dehydrogenase.
Samples had been stored for ≥3 years at −20°C before analysis, which predictably leads to a certain loss of enzyme activity in serum, in particular of ALT [42], [43]. Therefore, the data shown in the table tend to underestimate the true values. For selected parameters, the mean of all values in the pathological range are shown in parentheses. Units and pathological range are defined in the second column.
Reference values were taken from Kratz et al. [36].
Percentage of patients showing 2 or more pathological values for parameters that may indicate liver disease: albumin, total bilirubin, AST, ALT, and LDH.