[Frequency of lipoprotein-X (LP-X) in icteric patients. Comparison with some bioquimical data (author's transl)]

The authors have studied the frequency of an abnormal lipoprotein (LP-X), by the method presented by YAE e col. (21). The LP-X test is useful in differentiating of a cholestatic process from a non-cholestatic one, but it is not adequate to distinguish an intrahepatic cholestasis from an extrahepatic biliary obstruction. Out of the 41 icteric patients who were studied, a frequency of the presence of the LP-X was observed in 68.3% thus distributed: viral hepatitis 90,5% obstructive jaundice 85,7%, jaundice of uncertain etiology 37.6%; it was not present in 5 patients with hepatic cirrhosis and in the serum of 21 healthy volunteers. A significant association was found between the presence of LP-X and an abnormal curve of lipoproteins.