Laboratory parameters in the natural history of liver cirrhosis.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the changes of common laboratory parameters in the natural evolution of liver cirrhosis, as well as their relationships with the occurrence of ascites onset and death. Routine laboratory findings of 458 patients suffering from liver cirrhosis admitted to a 9-year follow-up period were retrospectively investigated, but only data of the 138 subjects (95 males and 43 females) who died within the follow-up period were considered. Data were grouped into different classes according to the months elapsed before ascites onset or death. The statistical differences among the various groups were evaluated employing analysis of variance and Turkey's test. No laboratory parameter showed statistically significant changes before or at the time of ascites onset, while significant modifications occurred in four liver indexes (albumin, total bilirubin, platelet count and gammaglobulin percentage) during the course of the illness, thus confirming the reliable prognostic value of these laboratory parameters in liver cirrhosis.