The actual metabolic function of the liver or the state of the liver`s overall health (function or hepatic impairment) is an important parameter and endpoint in ongoing management of both acute and chronic liver diseases. Decision-making in clinical hepatology often requires its assessment.
Only a few methods are available for following the metabolic function of the liver, and even these are extremely limited. Utilizing these tools makes it extremely difficult to assess the liver`s response to various insults, to design a treatment approach, and to predict recovery. Current blood and imaging tests do not accurately measure hepatic metabolic function. Monitoring liver enzyme activities, employing synthetic liver function tests, and measuring ammonia levels are not sensitive enough to detect alterations in liver function until a patient`s condition is severe. In many situations, the measurement of serum liver enzyme activity does not correlate with the metabolic function of the liver. Liver biopsy, the current "gold standard" in clinical hepatology, is an invasive test that assesses the degree of inflammation and fibrosis but cannot assess "true" organ function.
BreathID has been used successfully in the clinical setting to assess and monitor hepatic impairment. This includes the assessment of patients with acute liver injury (fulminanant, subfulminant, autoimmune, DILI), patients with chronic liver diseases, and the assessment of hepatic impairment in pre- and post-hepatectomy patients.
