Steatorrhea in patients with liver disease

Intestinal function was studied in 26 patients with seven types of acute and chronic liver disease, documented by liver biopsy. Steatorrhea, defined by a stool fat higher than 6 g. per day, was present in 18 of 23 consecutive patients studied, an incidence of 78.3%. Two patients with infectious hepatitis associated with steatorrhea studied previously were added and the 20 cases were analyzed. The malabsorption found was confined to fat and fat-soluble vitamins; stool excretion varied from 6.1 to 22 g. per day in the seven groups studied. No histological abnormality was seen on jejunal biopsy, serum vitamin B(12), D-xylose and Schilling tests were normal, and no radiological findings associated with malabsorption were detected in the small bowel. It is concluded that steatorrhea is a common finding in a wide variety of acute and chronic liver diseases and cannot be attributed to a primary defect of the small bowel.