FREQUENCY OF IMPAIRED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE IN PATIENTS OF CIRRHOSIS DUE TO HEPATITIS C

Introduction: Impaired glucose tolerance (I.G.T.) is defined as two – hour glucose levels of 140 to 199 mg/dL. (7.8 to 11.0 mmol) after 75 g oral glucose tolerance test. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of impaired glucose tolerance in patients with liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis C. It was a cross – sectional study. This study was conducted in a East Medical Ward of Mayo Hospital, Lahore. The study was carried out from August 2010 to February 2011. Material and Methods: A total of 200 patients of liver cirrhosis due to hepatitis C admitted to East Medical Ward through emergency and outdoor were recruited. Purposive (non-probability) sampling technique was used for sample collection. Cirrhotic patients of either sex or age above 12 years were included in this study. Results: Results of study were accessed on SPSS version 12. In 200 patients, 120 (60%) were males and 80 (40%) were females. The mean age of the patient was 56.31 years, for females it was 50.36 years and for male it was 49.25 years with standard deviation of 6.992. It was observed in 200 selected patients 68 (34%) had impaired glucose tolerance of which males were 43 (63%) and female were 25 (36%). All the patients developed impaired glucose tolerance after developing cirrhosis due to hepatitis C infection. Conclusion: The percentage of patients showing impaired glucose tolerance turned out to be 34% in our study. The principle conclusion of the study was that patients with decompensated cirrhosis due to hepatitis C had significantly higher frequency of impaired glucose tolerance.