Biochemical Features of Intrahepatic Cholestasis

Abstract

A pattern of results is reported which was found to be common among patients who had intrahepatic cholestasis (IHC) which was rarely found in patients with other hepatic conditions. The pattern was recognized from over 1000 cases suspected of hepatobiliary disease. 29 were diagnosed with IHC, and excluding 4, 25 revealed the following etiological pattern: chlorpromazine (12 patients); pregnancy and oral contraceptive use (8); and other (5). As opposed to patients with acute and chronic hepatic disease, IHC sufferers had relatively normal values for immunoglobulins and antibody titers. A disproportionate elevation of serum bilirubin vis-a-vis serum enzymatic activities separated potential IHC cases into intra- and extrahepatic cholestasis. The following factorial evaluations were useful in distinguishing hepatic disease states: 1) when the sum of the activities of serum alkaline phosphatase, 5'-nucleotidase, aspartate and alanine amiotransferases, and isocitrate dehydrogenase was divided by the serum bilirubin concentration, there was good resolution of the distinction between patients with IHC and those with primary biliary cirrhosis, early and late viral hepatitis, cholelithiasis, and pancreatic and bile duct cancers. 2) Resolution was also achieved when the numerator included alkaline phosphatase, 5'-nucleotidase, and aspartate aminotransferase, but not when alkaline phosphatase alone, or alkaline phosphatase combined with 5'-nucleotidase, was used. The essential lesion in IHC is an excretory defect.