Contribuição dos depósitos hepáticos de imunoglobulina A no diagnóstico da hepatopatia alcoólica

Abstract

Alcoholic hepatic disease is a severe and frequent disease and its diagnosis is not always an easy task. To assess the contribution of immunoglobulin A (IgA) in the hepatic sinusoids for diagnosis of alcoholic hepatopathy. The presence of IgA was studied through direct immunofluorescence in 59 patients submitted to hepatic needle biopsy, indicated by clinical or in vitro changes suggestive of chronic hepatopathy. A significant deposition of IgA was found in alcoholic patients as compared to non-alcoholic patients, with 76% sensitivity (95% CI: 54.5-89.8) and 73.5% specificity (95% CI: 55.3-86.5). In individuals who present only alcohol as the etiological agent of hepatopathy, compared with the subgroup of B or C virus carriers, the results were even more significant, with 85.7% sensitivity (95% CI: 56.2-97.5) and 89.5% specificity (95% CI: 65.5-98.2). The deposition of IgA in the hepatic sinusoids present sensitivity and specificity for the diagnosis of an alcohol-induced hepatic lesion. This resource can be particularly useful when conventional histology can not be define a specific cause for the change found.