Background: It has been shown that the increase in volume and pressure in the right heart chambers increases liver stiffness. The Albumin-Bilirubin (ALBI) score is a useful and easy-to-use score for objectively assessing liver function. There is no information in the literature about changes in ALBI score in patients with atrial septal defect (ASD). The aim of our study is to investigate the changes in ALBI score and its clinical impact in patients with ASD.
Methods: Of the 206 analyzed patients, 77 were excluded. The remaining 129 patients with secundum type ASD with left to right shunt were divided into three groups; Group I (16 patients with Qp/Qs < 1.5 and defect diameter < 10 mm), Group II (52 patients with Qp/Qs > 1.5 and defect diameter 10-20 mm) and Group III (61 patients with Qp/Qs > 1.5 and defect diameter > 20 mm). The ALBI score was calculated based on serum albumin and total bilirubin levels using the following formula: ALBI = (log10 bilirubin [umol/L] * .66) + (albumin [g/L] * -.085).
Results: ALBI scores as well as total bilirubin levels, transaminases, and functional-structural heart abnormalities (increase in RA and RV dimensions, sPAP, ASD size and decrease in LVEF and TAPSE) showed a significant increasing trend from Group I to Group III (p < .001 for all comparisons). The mean ALBI scores for Group I, Group II, and Group III were -3.71 ± .37, -3.51 ± .25, and -3.27 ± .34, respectively. In multivariate linear regression analysis, ASD size, sPAP, RV-RA diameter were found to be significantly associated with increased ALBI score.
Conclusion: The ALBI score offers a simple, evidence-based, objective, and discriminatory method of assessing liver function in patients with ASD. ASD size, sPAP, RV and RA diameters were significantly associated with ALBI score.
Keywords: albumin-bilirubin score; atrial septal defect; systolic pulmonary artery pressure.
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