title: Serum hyaluronic acid concentrations in children with cirrhosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Liver disease is associated with increased levels of hyaluronic acid (HA).
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate serum HA concentrations in children with cirrhosis and its relation with liver function tests and Child-Pugh score.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-two children with biopsy-proven liver cirrhosis were studied. All were assessed for the presence of ascites or encephalopathy and liver function tests were performed. Patients were categorized according to Child-Pugh criteria. Serum HA was measured using microELISA (normal 0-100 ng/mL). Twenty-two children with chronic hepatitis B and no cirrhosis were studied as controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Serum HA level in the cirrhotic children was 85.2 (72.8) ng/mL; levels were high (166.0 [46.3] ng/mL; range 115-246) in 8 (36.4%) patients. Three of 11 (27.2%) Child-Pugh class A patients, 3 of 8 (37.5%) class B patients, and 2 of 3 (66.7%) class C patients had elevated serum HA values (p=ns). Serum HA levels correlated with direct bilirubin level. The control group had lower levels (4.8 [2.3] ng/mL; p< 0.05), which were in the normal range.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Serum HA level may be useful as a diagnostic tool in children with cirrhosis.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, Hacettepe University, 06100 Ankara, Turkey. isaltik@hacettepe.edu.tr
authors.forename: Inci Nur
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Saltik-Temizel
authors.forename: Nurten
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Koçak
authors.forename: Hasan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ozen
authors.forename: Hülya
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Demir
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000097:blood / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000097:blood*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*; D008111:Liver Function Tests; D008297:Male; D011336:Probability; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid