Urinary bile acid sulfate levels in patients with hepatitis C virus-related chronic liver diseases

Aim: Urinary bile acids are mainly conjugated with sulfuric acid, and urinary sulfated bile acid (USBA) levels in hepatobiliary diseases have been reported. However, the relationship between USBA and fasting serum total bile acid (TBA) has not been studied in hepatobiliary diseases. In the present study, we measured USBA levels in patients with hepatitis C virus-related chronic liver diseases, and the relationship between TBA and various laboratory tests was studied. Methods: USBA was measured using an automatic assay kit in 66 patients with chronic hepatitis and 28 patients with liver cirrhosis, and its relationship between TBA and various laboratory tests was studied. Results: The median USBA level was 10.7 mu mol/g creatinine in patients with chronic hepatitis and 41.1 mu mol/g creatinine in liver cirrhosis (P = 0.000). More patients with chronic hepatitis had elevated USBA levels (61%) compared to TBA level (39%) (P = 0.002). USBA level was well correlated with TBA (r(s) = 0.680), and negatively correlated with albumin (r(s) = -0.488), prothrombin time (r(s) = -0.385) and platelet counts (r(s) = -0.394). In patients with liver cirrhosis, USBA was significantly elevated in Child-Pugh class B compared to Child-Pugh class A (P = 0.036). Conclusion: Although the metabolic pathways of USBA and TBA are different, these levels correlated very well, and USBA is considered to be a useful indicator of hepatic function like TBA in patients with chronic hepatitis C.