Protein-losing enteropathy in congestive cardiac failure: an entity of minor clinical significance.

Protein-losing enteropathology (PLE) occurs rarely in congestive cardiac failure (CCF). Using fecal alpha 1-antitrypsin, an endogenous marker of enteric protein loss, we studied 25 patients in severe CCF to determine the frequency, degree, and clinical significance of PLE. Excessive enteric protein loss was found in only two patients, confirming the relative infrequency of this condition. In addition, enteric protein loss did not appear to correlate with the serum albumin level; neither did it influence treatment or prognosis of the CCF. It is concluded that PLE associated with CCF is of minor clinical significance.