OBJECTIVE:

To test prospectively whether serum laminin levels, which is taken to indicate portal hypertension, can predict the occurrence of severe complications in advanced cirrhosis of the liver.

PATIENTS AND METHODS:

In 38 patients (21 men, 17 women; mean age 55.6 +/- 13.4 years) with liver fibrosis (n = 4) or liver cirrhosis (n = 34) serum laminin was measured by a commercially available radioimmunoassay (Behring, Marburg). The severity of liver cirrhosis was graded according to the Child-Pugh-Christensen criteria. Portal hypertension was assessed by standard endoscopic methods and portal-vein duplex sonography. Within a mean observation period of 12.5 +/- 3.5 months, the following were used as signs of severe clinical complications of liver cirrhosis: stages III and IV of hepatic coma, treatment-refractory ascites, portal vein thrombosis and death due to multi-organ failure. Acute bleeding from oesophageal varices was confirmed by emergency endoscopy.

RESULTS:

At laminin concentrations of 3.25 +/- 0.20 U/ml there was a highly significant correlation (P < 0.001) with complications of liver cirrhosis. Using 2.6 U/ml as the critical level, the occurrence of severe complications had a positive predictive value of 0.80 with a sensitivity and specificity of 0.71 and 0.86 respectively. This means that a patient who, at the beginning of the study period, had a raised laminin concentration, had a relative risk of 2.65 (1.41-4.97) for later severe complications.

CONCLUSION:

Serum laminin concentration has a diagnostic efficiency of 0.79 as a prognostic indicator and can thus serve as a valuable addition to the Child-Pugh-Christensen classification of liver cirrhosis.