Evaluation of hepatic fibrosis by serum proline and amino-terminal type III procollagen peptide levels in alcoholic patients.

In patients with alcoholic liver disease, serum proline and amino-terminal type III procollagen peptide levels were evaluated as a marker of hepatic fibrosis. Thirty-one patients with alcoholic liver disease (2 with nonspecific change, 3 with alcoholic hepatitis, 17 with hepatic fibrosis without cirrhosis, and 9 with cirrhosis) and 15 controls were investigated. Hepatic fibrosis was estimated in each liver biopsy specimen by morphometric analysis, and the ratio of fibrotic change to total area (AREA-F) was calculated by morphometric analysis. In patients with hepatic fibrosis, serum proline levels and routine liver function tests were not significantly correlated to AREA-F value, while serum peptide levels showed a significant positive correlation to AREA-F value (r = 0.733, P less than 0.001). These results suggest that the determination of serum amino-terminal type III procollagen peptide level may serve as a good marker for the diagnosis of liver fibrosis in the alcoholic.