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A comparative study between carbohydrate-deficient transferrin and gamma-glutamyltransferase for the diagnosis of excessive drinking in a liver unit.
- Source :
-
Journal of hepatology [J Hepatol] 1997 Dec; Vol. 27 (6), pp. 1003-8. - Publication Year :
- 1997
-
Abstract
- Aim: To compare the efficacy of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin and gamma-glutamyltransferase for the diagnosis of excessive alcohol intake in patients admitted in a liver unit.<br />Methods: The 346 patients were divided into three groups of alcoholics: 57 patients (31 men, 26 women) with a normal liver, 77 patients (51 men, 26 women) with non-cirrhotic alcoholic liver disease, and 61 patients (43 men, 18 women) with alcoholic cirrhosis; and three groups of non-alcoholics: 35 abstainers (21 men, 14 women), and 58 healthy blood donors (26 men, 32 women), and 58 patients (32 men, 26 women) who had a non-alcoholic liver disease. Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin and gamma-glutamyltransferase were measured at admission using commercially available kits.<br />Results: Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin was more sensitive than gamma-glutamyltransferase in patients without alcoholic liver disease, in both men (85 vs 54%) and women (64 vs 36%). Carbohydrate-deficient transferrin sensitivity decreased slightly but not significantly according to the severity of the liver disease in men and women. The sensitivity of gamma-glutamyltransferase which was low in men and women without alcoholic liver disease, improved in groups with moderate or severe alcoholic liver disease: not less than 80% in men and up to 100% in women. The specificity of carbohydrate-deficient transferrin in patients with non-alcoholic liver disease was consistently higher than that of gamma-glutamyltransferase (80% vs 60%).<br />Conclusions: In liver units, carbohydrate-deficient transferrin can help to identify excessive drinkers without liver disease with a higher efficacy than that of gamma-glutamyltransferase; carbohydrate-deficient transferrin can also be used to distinguish between alcoholics with moderate liver disease and patients with non-alcoholic liver diseases.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 0168-8278
- Volume :
- 27
- Issue :
- 6
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of hepatology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 9453425
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1016/s0168-8278(97)80143-2