Test of serum total bile acid for diagnosis of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Objective To detect the level of total bile acid(TBA)in serum of women during normal pregnancy and the patients with intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy(ICP),and to compare with other liver function indexes in order to explore the evaluation of TBA detection in ICP.Methods The contrast detection of TBA,alanine aminotransferase(ALT),aspartate aminotransferase(AST)and alkaline phosphatase(ALP)were carried out in 20 patients with ICP and 30 normal pregnant women through Olympus AU2700 automatic biochemical analysis instrument by methods of cyclophorase.Results The level of TBA in the patients with ICP was significantly higher than that of the normal pregnant women[(35.1±7.0)μmol/L vs(2.9±1.6)μmol/L],and the difference had statistical significance(t=20.544,P0.01).In the patients with ICP,the abnorality rate of TBA(90.0%)was higher than that of ALT,AST and ALP(55%,50%,60%).Compared with normal pregnant women,the mean level of TBA in the patients with ICP increased 12.1 times,and that was significantly higher than the increasing multiples of ALT,AST and ALP(4.3,3.4,3.6).Conclusion The serum TBA is a sensitive index for diagnosis of intrahepatic cholestasis,and its sensibility and specificity have an advantage over other liver function indexes.