Creatinine clearance: an inadequate marker of renal filtration in patients with early posthepatitic cirrhosis (Child A) without fluid retention and muscle wasting

Abstract

Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was measured in 19 patients with Child A liver cirrhosis by comparing the endogenous creatinine clearance with inulin clearance. Inulin clearance averaged 90 +/- 4.4 ml/min x 1.73 m2, while creatinine clearance averaged 122 +/- 7 ml/min x 1.73 m2 (p < 0.001). The overestimation of GFR by creatinine was present in 18 of 19 patients and was inversely correlated with inulin clearance (r = -0.452, p < 0.04). The data point to the unsuitability of creatinine as a marker of filtration in early posthepatitic cirrhosis (Child A).