The Indocyanine Green Extraction Test of Liver Function in Pulmonary Disease

Abstract

Indocyanine green extraction and galactose tolerance have been measured in 6 normal subjects and 27 patients with marked reduction of ventilatory capacity. In 21 of the 27 patients the indocyanine green extraction was definitely abnormal, the other six gave borderline results. The galactose tolerance test was abnormal in 19 of 27 cases with a correlation coefficient of 0.69. The work indicates that a high proportion of patients with obstructive airway disease have evidence of liver dysfunction when conventional liver function tests are normal. It is postulated that this is due to reduced hepatic blood flow and hepatic congestion.