Serum thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine, thyroxine, and triiodothyronine/thyroxine ratio in patients with fulminant, acute, and chronic hepatitis.

The concentrations of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4), T3/T4 ratio, free thyroxine index, and thyroxine-binding globulin were investigated in 114 viral hepatic disease patients and 36 controls. The T3/T4 ratio in healthy hepatitis B virus carriers was significantly greater than those in the controls and fulminant, acute, or chronic active hepatitis patients. The T3/T4 ratio in the fulminant hepatitis patients was significantly less than those in the controls and other liver disease patients. The correlation coefficient between the T3/T4 ratio and microsomal arylamidase activity in liver tissue from 30 patients was 0.78 (p less than 0.001). The correlation coefficient between the T3/T4 ratio and the content of cholinesterase was 0.64 (p less than 0.001). These results suggest that the T3/T4 ratio represents a marker of microsomal function and is useful for estimation of prognosis of fulminant hepatitis or differentiation of various viral hepatic diseases.