The measurement of serum proteins with rapid turnover for early diagnosis of fatal hepatitis.

An attempt was made to find reliable indices for the early recognition of fatal cases of acute viral hepatitis, using the values of serum proteins with rapid turnover. Prealbumin and alpha2-HS-glycoprotein were measured in the sera of 44 cases by immunodiffusion method before the appearance of hepatic coma and/or gastrointestinal bleeding. The difference of the mean values of prealbumin between fatal and surviving cases of subacute form of fulminant hepatitis was not statistically significant. In contrast to this, there was statistically significant difference between both groups in the mean values of alpha2-HS-glycoprotein (p less than 0.05). The present results indicate the possibility of differentiating fatal cases from surviving ones at an early stage, using the reduction of alpha2-HS-glycoprotein by a simple and reproducible immunodiffusion method.