Serum bile acid concentrations in patients with liver disease.

An enzymatic-fluorimetric method using a highly purified 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (Sterognost-3alpha, Nyco) was used to determine fasting serum bile acid concentrations on 49 occasions in 43 patients with various liver diseases. A two-hour postprandial bile acid determination was carried out on 29 occasions in 27 of the patients. Fasting bile acid concentration correlated significantly both in cholestatic hepatobiliary and in parenchymatous liver disease to serum bilirubin and aspartate aminotransferase (ASAT) but not to alanine aminotransferase (ALAT), alkaline phosphatase, or albumin. The two-hour postprandial bile acid concentration was above normal in all patients with biochemical and/or histological signs of hepatobiliary disease, also when fasting concentration was within normal limits. In parenchymatous liver disease correlations existed between the two-hour postprandial bile acid concentration and bilirubin, ASAT, and ALAT. The sensitivity of serum bile acid estimation was compared to other liver function tests. Both the fasting and the postprandial serum bile acid concentrations tended to be more sensitive tests of hepatobiliary disease than bilirubin, ASAT and ALAT.