86 SERUM HYALURONIC ACID (HA) – A NEW TEST OF LIVER FUNCTION?

Hyaluronic acid (HA) is cleared from the circulation specifically by hepatic endothelial cells. To assess whether measurement of serum HA may give information about hepatic function not provided by conventional liver function tests, we have measured serum HA in 48 infants who presented with cholestatic liver disease in the first 6 months of life (25 extra-hepatic biliary atresia [EHBA], 13 alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency [α1-ATD], 10 idiopathic hepatitis of infancy [IHI] and 51 age-matched healthy infants.)