Liver function in pulmonary heart disease.

Abstract

Richman, Delman, and Grob (1961) described alterations in indices of liver function in congestive heart failure with particular reference to serum enzymes and drew attention to the increased fre- quency of abnormal patterns of the tests in episodes of acute heart failure as against chronic heart failure. They and others have found the alkaline phosphatase, thymol turbidity, thymol floccula- tion, serum proteins, bilirubin, and cholesterol levels relatively insensitive in chronic heart failure Richman et al. found the SGOT increased in 33 per cent of patients with in- creases limited almost entirely to those with acute failure. El-Shaboury, Thomas, and Williams (1964) found increases in SGOT levels in many patients with acute exacerbation of asthma, but without evidence of heart failure. Refsum (1963) showed a close correlation between SGOT and SGPT levels and severity of arterial hypoxaemia in severe pulmonary insufficiency. He remarked on the lack of correlation between the enzymatic changes and clinical signs of right heart failure.