EC Gastroenterology and Digestive System

Introduction: Hypozincemia appears to hasten the liver cirrhosis symptoms, which is why we conducted this study to determine a link between hypozincemia and hepatic encephalopathy. In light of this, the current investigation was carried out to evaluate the serum zinc levels in patients with decompensated chronic liver disease (DCLD) and varying degrees of hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 85 patients with Decompensated Chronic Liver Disease presents with Hepatic encephalopathy. Patients with hepatic encephalopathy were clinically categorised using the West Hevan classification (WHC). All patients were also given a Modified Child's classification ranking, and the Child-Pugh score was used to determine the severity of liver cirrhosis. Serum Zinc and albumin levels were assessed using standard methods.

Results: Alcohol misuse was the most frequent aetiology in our sample (84.4%), followed by viral. the middle-aged male population in our study was predominately affected. All patients with decompensated chronic liver disease who were admitted for our research had HE. Patients with higher grades of HE were more likely to have low serum zinc levels. Low blood albumin levels were more frequently linked to lower serum Zn levels in our study.

Conclusion: In conclusion, we discovered that it is important to test for hypozincemia in all patients with decompensated chronic liver disease, especially those who had hypoalbuminemia and hepatic encephalopathy (HE).

Keywords: Decompensated Liver Disease; Hepatic Encephalopathy; Serum Zinc; Serum Albumin

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