Abstract
According to the average daily alcohol intake, 15 patients with alcoholic liver injury were devided into Group A (68-113g alcohol / day) and Group B (over 113g / day). Peritoneoscopical, histological and clinical investigations have been carried out by per-forming peritoneoscopy and liver function test of these patients. Alcoholic liver cirrhosis was found in 3 out of 7 cases of Group A and 6 out of 8 cases of Group B. Peritoneoscopic observation showed fiber proliferation, scar formation and bull edge of the liver in most of patients in Group A and atrophic nodular liver and numerous lympho-vesicles of the edge were often seen in Group B. Histological examination of the liver revealed a high incidence of pericellular fibrosis (100%) and fatty metamorphosis (66%) but scarcely alcoholic hyaline (7%). Characteristic features of biochemical liver functions were transient elevations of serum GOT and GPT and other liver emzymes in acute exacerbation with alcohol abuse, but persistent abnormalities of ICG test, cephalin f loculation test and cholinesterase were found in patients with liver cirrhosis. The above observations suggest that differentiation of alcohol-induced hepatic injuries such as alcoholic liver cirrhosis, acute alcoholic hepatitis and fatty liver from other non-alcoholic liver diseases are quite difficult during the long term abstinence, and therefore early peritoneoscopic and histological examinations of the liver following discontinuation of alcohol intake are essential.
