Study of the electric activity of the cirrhotic liver with identification of an electrohepatogram.

In a recent study we could characterize an electrohepatogram (EHG) for the normal liver which consisted of regular monophasic, positively deflected slow waves or pacesetter potentials (PPs). We proposed that the EHG might act as an investigative tool in the diagnosis of liver diseases. In this communication, we studied the electric activity of the liver in hepatic cirrhosis. 42 patients with liver cirrhosis (30 men, 12 women, mean age 41.2+/-14.3 years) and 20 healthy volunteers (14 men, 6 women, mean age 42.2+/-13.1), who acted as controls, were enrolled in the study. Three silver-silver chloride electrodes were applied, 3-4 cm apart, to the abdominal skin parallel to and 1.5-2 cm below the right costal margin. Two 20-minute recording sessions were performed for each subject. In contrast to the regular reproducible PPs recorded in the healthy volunteers, the PPs of the cirrhotic patients had irregular rhythm, frequency and amplitude with occasional silent (no PPs) areas. The registered waves were identical from the 3 electrodes in the same subject in the healthy controls, while differed from one electrode to the other in the cirrhotic patients. The "hepatoarrhythmic" pattern encountered in the cirrhotic liver was consistent and reproducible. An EHG could be identified for the cirrhotic liver. It exhibited a "hepatoarrhythmic pattern" due probably to loss of the lobular architecture of the liver and its replacement with regeneration nodules and fibrosis.