It is well known that impairment of renal function with electrolytes changes may develop under widely different pathologic and biochemical circumstances in patients with liver cirrhosis.
There have been many reports and experiments to investigate the renal functions in liver cirrhosis but no single mechanism demonstrates clearly this relationship till now. The change of renal blood flow, glomerular filtration rate, disturbance of aldosterone secretion and other possible mechanism have been introduced to explain the renal function abnormalities in liver cirrhosis.
This study is performed to evaluate the change of renal functions and electrolytes in 10 normal healthy subjects and 60 patients with liver cirrhosis who had been admitted to Department of Internal Medicine, National Medical Center in Seoul, Korea, during the period from Jan. 1974 to June 1975.
Various renal function tests and electrolytes changes including BUN, serum creatinine, creatinine clearance, and 24hrs. urine volumes, serum sodium, potassium and chloride level, and daily urinary out put of sodium, potassium and chloride ware measured and analyzed in normal health subjects and patients of liver cirrhosis. 60 patients of liver cirrhosis were subdivided into 4 groups according to two characteristics which have ascites and azotemia or not.
Comparison and analysis of above each red data were performed in each group of liver cirrhosis and results are summarized as follow:
1) In view point of evaluation of various renal function tests, mean BUN and serum creatinine levels in the patients of liver cirrhosis with ascites are higher than in the absence of ascites, and mean creatinine clearance level and 24hrs. urine plumes in patients of liver cirrhosis with ascites are lower than in the absence of ascites.
2) In patients of liver cirrhosis with ascites, there showed decreased level of serum sodium , potassium and chloride but no significant changes were revealed in patients without ascites except decreased serum potassium level comparing the healthy subjects.
3) There showed decreased excretion of sodium, potassium and chloride in 24hrs. urine in patients of liver cirrhosis with ascites but potassium excretion was almost same value in patients of liver cirrhosis without ascites comparing the healthy subjects.
4) Serum sodium and chloride was decreased and serum potassium was slightly elevated in patients of liver cirrhosis with azotemia comparing the patients of liver cirrhosis without azotemia .
5) There are no significant difference was disclosed in 24hrs. Urine volumes and their creatinine clearances urine electrolytes and urinalysis between azotemia and nonazotemia in patients of liver cirrhosis.
6) There were no significant difference in liver function tests between azotemia and nonazotemia in patients of liver cirrhosis.
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