Diagnostic Value of the ¹³C Methacetin Breath Test in Various Stages of Chronic Liver Disease

Table 2

Mean values of the cumulative percent oxidation of the ¹³C-MBT at 40 and 120 mins in various stages of chronic liver disease.

Stages of liver disease	n	Cum. 40 mins^a	Mean difference (95% CI)	P	Cum. 120 mins^b	Mean difference (95% CI)	P
Fibrosis	21	0.72 ± 0.17	−0.07	.33	0.85 ± 0.14	−0.09	.11
Nonfibrosis/ inflammation	9	0.80 ± 0.25	(−0.24 to 0.08)		0.94 ± 0.19	(−0.22 to 0.03)
Cirrhosis	47	0.25 ± 0.22	−0.51	<.0001	0.43 ± 0.26	−0.47	<.0001
Noncirrhosis	30	0.77 ± 0.19	(−0.61 to −0.41)		0.89 ± 0.15	(−0.57 to −0.36)
CPA* cirrhosis	12	0.45 ± 0.18	−0.31	<.0001	0.64 ± 0.19	−0.25	<.0001
noncirrhosis	29	0.76 ± 1.89	(−0.44 to −0.18)		0.89 ± 0.15	(−0.36 to −0.13)
CPB^# cirrhosis	15	0.26 ± 0.17	−0.41	<.0001	0.46 ± 0.23	−0.36	<.0001
CPA/noncirrhosis	41	0.67 ± 0.23	(−0.54 to −0.28)		0.82 ± 0.20	(−0.49 to −0.24)
CPC^**cirrhosis	21	0.12 ±0.19	−0.44	<.0001	0.28 ± 0.22	−0.45	<.0001
Non-CPC cirrhosis	56	0.56 ± 0.28	(−0.57 to −0.30)		0.72 ± 0.26	(−0.57 to −0.31)

*Child-Pugh A, ^#Child-Pugh B, and **Child-Pugh C.
^aNormal range: 0.90–1.20.
^bNormal range: 0.80–1.10.