The comparison of total bile acid concentration and alcohol dehydrogenase activity as markers of intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: Intrahepatic cholestasis of pregnancy (ICP) is the liver disorder in the second or early third trimester of pregnancy. It is characterized by pruritus with increased serum bile acids concentration and other liver function tests. ICP  is connected with increased risk of fetal mortality, but is unfortunately detected quite late. Therefore, it is important to recognize the disease in its early stages. We aimed to investigate the serum alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and compare it with the concentration of total bile acid (TBA) in women with ICP. Methods: Serum samples were taken for routine investigation from 80 pregnancies with ICP in the second or third trimester of pregnancy and from 80 healthy pregnant women in the same time of pregnancy. For measurement of class I activity we used the spectrofluorometric methods. The total ADH activitiy was measured by the photometric method. Results: The analysis of results shows a statistically significant increase in the activity of ADH I and ADH total (about 60% and 41.3%, respectively). Activity of ADH I well correlated with aminotransferases (alanine ALT and aspartate AST) and total bile acids (TBA) concentration. The total ADH activity was also positively correlated with ALT, AST and total bile acids. Conclusion: We can state that the activity of class I alcohol dehydrogenase isoenzyme in the sera of patients with ICP is increased and seems to be a good indicator of liver cell destruction during this disease and is comparable with the value of other markers.