Life expectancy in chronic liver disease.
Life-table analysis is a suitable method for evaluating the effectiveness of therapeutical approaches to and the progression of, chronic diseases. The authors performed 324 liver biopsies in patients with liver disease between 1976 and 1986. The cumulative life-table analysis of Cutler and Ederer was applied in this retrospective study. Survival rates of different groups of patients expressed as the 7-year life expectancy were as follows: toxic hepatitis 90%, steatosis hepatitis 87%, chronic persistent hepatitis 87%, nonspecific reactive hepatitis 76%, chronic active hepatitis 72%, acute alcoholic hepatitis 66%, liver cirrhosis 40%. There seems to be a correlation between the severity of histological alteration and live expectancy. A similar correlation between the inflammatory cell infiltration and life expectancy cannot be observed. The life expectancy of patients with chronic active hepatitis has significantly improved recently. Further improvement of survival of patients with liver cirrhosis can be expected only from a reduction of alcohol consumption. The results can be regarded as a reference data for life expectancy of patients with chronic liver disease in Hungary.
Szalay
L
L
2nd Department of Medicine, Semmelweis University Medical School, Budapest.
Göndöcs
C
C
Kárteszi
M
M
Schaff
Z
Z
Lapis
K
K
Fehér
J
J
D001706:Biopsy; D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D006814:Hungary; D008017:Life Expectancy; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis