The clinic value of prealbumin, cholinesterase and total bile acid in evaluating liver reserve function and its change in patients with liver cirrhosis

Objective To investigate the role of prealbumin(PAB), cholinesterase(CHE) and total bile acid(TBA) in evaluating liver reserve function and its change in patients with liver cirrhosis. Methods Eighty-three serum samples from patients with liver cirrhosis were detected for PAB, CHE, TBA and other biochemical markers. All patients were classified in accordance with Child-Pugh scale. The serum levels of these indexes before and after treatment were compared. Results The difference of PAB, CHE among Child-Pugh A, B, C were statistically significant(P0.01). The difference of PAB between Child-Pugh A and healthy group was statistically significant(P0.01). But for TBA, only the difference between Child-Pugh C group and healthy group / Child-Pugh A group was statistically significant. The clinic values of PAB and CHE in diagnosing Child-Pugh grade were compared with ALB. ROC analysis showed: sensitivity and specificity of PAB, ALB and CHE in diagnosing Child-Pugh B were similar. In diagnosing Child-Pugh C, the sensitivity of PAB was higher than ALB and CHE. Reversely, the specificity of PAB was inferior to ALB and CHE. Before and after treatment, the serum levels of PAB, CHE were statistically significant. Conclusion PAB and CHE reflect appropriately not only liver reserve function, but also its change in patients with liver cirrhosis. The role of TBA is inferior to PAB and CHE.