Frequency of Hepatic Encephalopathy in HCV Cirrhotic Patients with and Without Diabetes Mellitus

Abstract

Objective: To compare the frequency of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in HCV cirrhotic patients
with and without Diabetes Mellitus.
Material and Methods: This cross sectional survey of 100 patients was conducted in all
medical units of Mayo Hospital Lahore after meeting the inclusion criteria. Patients were
classified as diabetic if they were on oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin or have BSF>126mg/dl
and non diabetic if they had BSF<126 mg/dl. The assessment for presence or absence of hepatic
encephalopathy was determined using criteria defined in operational definition. HCV LIVER
CIRRHOSIS is a consequence of chronic liver disease characterized by replacement of liver
tissue by fibrosis, scare tissue and regenerative nodules. Cirrhosis was confirmed by
Ultrasonography abdomen and hepatitis C was confirmed with ELISA test.
Results: Mean age of patient was 44.43±10.16 years with minimum and maximum ages 18 & 60
years respectively. Frequency of DM was determined as 34% among HCV cirrhosis patients while
in 66% patients the diabetes was not seen. Hepatic encephalopathy was seen in 31(91.2%) of
diabetics and in 48(72.7%) of non-diabetic patients. HE was not seen in 21% of patients in which 3
were diabetics & 18 were non diabetic. In this study frequency of HE was higher in diabetic group
as compared to non diabetic group i.e. P- value=0.032.
Conclusion: According to this study, frequency of Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is significantly
higher in diabetic patients as compared to non-diabetic patients i.e. P value 0.032. Frequency of
HE was seen in 91.2% of the diabetic patients and in 72.7% of non-diabetic patients.