Blood analysis for liver cirrhosis.

Liver fibrosis is one of the most important factors of disturbed liver function, but could not be measured by simple blood tests until recently. Among several parameters used for this purpose, the aminoterminal procollagen type III peptide (PIIIP) appears to be the most widely accepted. Studies conducted in several clinical groups have shown that PIIIP effectively distinguishes between non-fibrotic and fibrotic liver disease. A reliable commercial kit is available and a wide application possible to evaluate the clinical meaning of serum PIIIP for the long-term outcome of chronic liver disease. With this novel blood test we can now assess liver fibrosis as we can measure the hepato-biliary function.