[Relationship of plasma endotoxin level with TCM deficiency/excess syndrome and grading/staging of pathologic change of liver in patients with chronic hepatitis].

Objective: To explore the relationship of plasma endotoxin level with TCM deficiency/excess Syndrome and the grading/staging of pathologic change of liver in patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB).
Methods: Plasma level of endotoxin (ET) was determined using chromogenic limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) assay in 75 patients with chronic hepatitis B (30 of excess dominance, 45 of deficiency dominance) and also in 15 healthy subjects for control. Moreover, pathological examination on liver biopsy of 20 patients was conducted.
Results: (1) ET level increased in all CHB patients, and the increment was higher in patients of excess dominance than that in patients of deficiency dominance, showing significant difference (P < 0.01). (2) Correlation between ET level and liver pathological grading/staging was shown in CHB patients.
Conclusion: Plasma level of ET could be taken as one of the criteria of TCM microcosmic diagnosis in differentiating deficiency/excess syndrome. (2) Endotoxemia plays an important role in pathologic process of liver injury.