Thyroid hormones in molecular adsorbent recirculating system-treated patients with Child C cirrhosis: A case series

摘要

To the Editor: The molecular adsorbent recirculating system (MARS) is an extracorporeal liver assistance system for the elimination of albumin-bound molecules such as bilirubin. The method uses an albumin-containing dialysate that is recirculated and perfused through charcoal and anion-exchange columns (1). MARS has been found to be beneficial in the treatment of patients with acute liver failure and in cirrhotic patients with acute decompensation, in order to bridge the time period to recovery or to liver transplantation (2). In patients with cirrhosis, low-T_3 syndrome has been reported to occur frequently (3). As thyroid hormones are also bound to albumin in plasma, we report on plasma levels of free thyroxine (FT_4), free triiodothyronine (FT_3) and thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) in eight patients (seven males), aged 51-64 years, with Child C cirrhosis undergoing MARS treatment.