PROTHROMBIN TIME AS AN INDICATOR OF SEVERITY OF LIVER DISEASES

Objective: To confirm that Prothrombin time is by and large the most sensitive indicator of hepatocellular function. Materials and Method: Two hundred and twenty patients were recruited in the study from Military Hospital Rawalpindi and combined Military Hospital Peshawar over one year period 1993. All the patient went through a detailed history, hematological and screening tests. The student ʹtʹ test was used to assess the significance of results obtained. Results: 97% of the patients were males while 69% of the total patients were in the age group of 21-30 years. 93% had viral hepatitis and out of these only 19.50% were Hbs Ag positive. The common symptoms in order of frequency were yellow sclera, loss of appetite, dark urine. Jaundice (97.2%) and palpable liver (81.36) were the most common physical signs. Patients who had PT difference less than 3 seconds from the control had mild hepatitis, while patients who had PT difference more than 3 seconds from the control, had severe hepatitis.Conclusion: PT is a good prognostic indicator of severity of liver diseases and correlates well with the elevation of bilirubin and ALT.