Serum activity of ornithine carbamoyl transferase in patients operated with jejunoileal bypass for extreme obesity after pretreatment with aminoacids.

Increased blood level of the liver specific enzyme ornithine carbamoyl transferase (OCT) is known to be a sensitive indicator of liver cell damage. The effect of preoperative aminoacid infusion to obese patients before jejunoileal bypass due to obesity was studied in 7 patients. They had a significantly lower rise on OCT than eight patients receiving only 5.5% glucose. The result seems to indicate that the liver in an obese patient undergoing abdominal surgery is protected against damage by an infusion of aminoacids.