Abstract
Patients with cirrhosis often develop malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies, leading to a worse prognosis and increased mortality. Our main goal was to assess the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in patients with decompensated cirrhosis. This was a prospective single-center study including 125 consecutive patients hospitalized for acute decompensation of cirrhosis (mostly of alcoholic etiology). A blood test including trace elements and vitamins was performed on admission. The main micronutrient deficiencies observed were vitamin D (in 94.5%), vitamin A (93.5%), vitamin B6 (60.8%) and zinc (85.6%). Patients in Child-Pugh class C had lower levels of vitamin A (p < 0.0001), vitamin E (p = 0.01) and zinc (p < 0.001), and higher levels of ferritin (p = 0.002) and vitamin B12 (p < 0.001) than those in Child-Pugh class A and B. Patients with a higher model of end-stage liver disease (MELD) score had lower levels of vitamin A (p < 0.0001), vitamin E (p < 0.001), magnesium (p = 0.01) and zinc (p = 0.001), and higher levels of ferritin (p = 0.002) and vitamin B12 (p < 0.0001). Severe hepatic insufficiency correlated with lower levels of zinc, vitamin E and vitamin A, and higher levels of vitamin B12 and ferritin.
Highlights
Introduction distributed under the terms andMalnutrition is common in patients with liver cirrhosis
With regard to liver function, we identified that patients in Child-Pugh class C had lower values of vitamin A (p < 0.0001), zinc (p < 0.0001), vitamin E (p = 0.01) and magnesium (p = 0.05)
Our study is the first to provide focused on trace elements, we found that patients who had infection at the time of admisan overall view of the prevalence of micronutrient deficiency for both vitamins and sion had lower serum concentrations of phosphorus, and this correlation reached statisti- trace elements with in patients with cirrhosis
Summary
Introduction distributed under the terms andMalnutrition is common in patients with liver cirrhosis. Several studies have demonstrated its association with increased morbidity and mortality and decreased quality of life [1,2,3,4]. It can severely compromise liver transplant outcomes [3,5]. Several authors use different definitions of the term "malnutrition", making it difficult to conduct and interpret studies properly. It is defined as a decrease in skeletal muscle, visceral fat and subcutaneous tissue, but some authors include micronutrient deficiency (vitamins and trace elements)
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