title: Monoethylglycinexylidide production as a measure in predicting hepatic histology.
abstract: To clarify whether monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) production can be useful in predicting the severity of chronic liver disease, 51 subjects were enrolled in this study: 13 mild-moderate CAH (group A), 9 severe CAH (group B), 29 cirrhosis, 18 compensated and 11 decompensated disease (group C). The patients were injected with a 1 mg/Kg lidocaine bolus i.v. and serum-sampled for MEGX values (time 15, 30 and 60 minutes), determined by TDX-immunoassay. MEGX formation was significantly different (Mann-Whitney U test) in the three groups at each time interval, especially at 30 min: group A = 70.5 +/- 9.9 ng/ml (mean +/- SD); group B = 49.7 +/- 7.2; group C = 37.2 +/- 19.5 (in A vs B, p = 0.0003; in A vs C, p < 0.0001; in B vs C, p = 0.0237). The difference between compensated and decompensated cirrhosis was always significant (p = 0.0099, 0.0005, 0.0113 respectively) but between severe CAH and compensated cirrhosis it was marginal only at 15min (p = 0.0763) and absent at 30 and 60min. At 30min MEGX values > 60 suggest mild-moderate CAH, < 40 cirrhosis, < 30 decompensated cirrhosis, between 40 and 60 severe CAH or compensated cirrhosis. We are of the opinion that the MEGX test could be utilized to predict hepatic histology.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Ospedale Civile di Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Forte
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rocco
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Costanzo
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Grimaldi
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: M E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Bottiglieri
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Biceglia
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zampella
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D006521:Hepatitis, Chronic / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007275:Injections, Intravenous; D008012:Lidocaine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000097:blood; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D008012:Lidocaine; C001173:monoethylglycinexylidide