title: Effect of drinking on the outcome of cirrhosis in patients with hepatitis B or C.
abstract: Survival rates were calculated for 251 patients with cirrhosis of the liver but without hepatocellular carcinoma, primary biliary cirrhosis, or autoimmune cirrhosis who underwent laparoscopy during the past 21 years at the authors' hospital. The survival rates were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Stored serum was assayed for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies to the hepatitis C virus (HCV). Patients with alcoholic cirrhosis had significantly better survival rates than patients with HBsAg, HCV, or both. Differences in survival rates between patients with hepatitis B and C were insignificant. In both groups, habitual drinkers had a significantly lower survival rate. The results suggested that alcohol accelerates liver damage in subjects with viral hepatitis.
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Japan.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shiomi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuroki
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Minamitani
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ueda
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nishiguchi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seki
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harihara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications; D002423:Cause of Death; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality*; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000150:complications / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015996:Survival Rate