Study of serum uric acid level in chronic liver disease and its association with hepatic encephalopathy and LFT parameters

Background: Chronic liver disease (CLD) is a progressive condition associated with complications such as hepatic encephalopathy (HE), a neuropsychiatric manifestation linked to altered purine metabolism and serum uric acid (SUA) levels. While liver function tests (LFTs) evaluate liver health, the role of SUA in CLD, particularly its correlation with HE severity and LFT parameters, remains underexplored. To investigate serum uric acid levels in CLD patients and examine their correlation with HE severity and LFT parameters. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 54 CLD patients aged 18-85 years from GSVM Medical college Kanpur, selected via random sampling. Clinical and biochemical data, including SUA levels and LFTs, were collected and analysed. Statistical analyses using ANOVA and Pearson correlation assessed associations between SUA, HE grades, and LFT parameters. Results: Serum uric acid levels significantly correlated with HE severity (ANOVA: F=6.93, p<0.05), with mean SUA levels rising from 6.28 mg/dL in Grade 0 to 10.41 mg/dl in Grade 2 HE. SUA demonstrated significant negative correlation with serum albumin (r = -0.36, p<0.05) and positive correlations with PT-INR (r = 0.33, p<0.05) and creatinine (r = 0.55, p<0.05). No significant correlation was observed with bilirubin, SGOT or SGPT. Conclusions: Elevated SUA levels are significantly associated with the severity of hepatic encephalopathy and key LFT parameters. SUA may serve as a valuable biomarker for assessing CLD progression and predicting complications like HE.