O. Selberg et al., Clinical significance and correlates of whole body potassium status in patients with liver cirrhosis, HEPATOL RES, 16(1), 1999, pp. 36-48
This study investigates whole body potassium status and its associations wi
th disease stage, nutritional status, and prognosis in patients with liver
cirrhosis, Two hundred and twenty-five patients were assessed for disease s
tage total body potassium (TBP), anthropometric muscle mass, and energy exp
enditure. Subsets of patients were investigated by quantitative liver funct
ion tests or followed for survival. Patients with liver disease had lost 32
.6% of TBP as compared to controls or 22.0-32.9% as compared to predictive
equations. Potassium loss was independent of Child-Pugh class (A, 32.1%; B,
32.3%; C, 35.2%) as was whole body muscle mass (A, 19.5 kg; B, 18.8 kg; C,
20.1 kg). Potassium loss was not associated with diuretic therapy and not
enhanced in alcoholic cirrhosis, But muscle mass, resting energy expenditur
e (REE) and ascites grade correlated with potassium loss (multiple r = 0.40
P < 0.01). Patients with potassium loss > 35% had reduced survival, but th
is association was not independent of Child-Pugh class. Thus, TBP loss is n
ot related to disease stage, liver function, diuretic treatment or origin o
f liver disease, but related to muscle mass, energy expenditure, and ascite
s, and therefore reflects modifications in body composition and metabolism.
TBP status does, however, not add significantly to the prognostic power of
the established Child-Pugh scoring system. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Irela
nd Ltd. All rights reserved.