Abstract: | Post-heparin plasma lipolytic activity (PHLA) was measured in 21 patients with acute viral hepatitis. PHLA was significantly reduced in all patients (p less than 0.0005), whose mean activity was only 32% of the control subjects. An inverse correlation (p less than 0.05) was found between PHLA values and serum triglycerides levels. During recovery, the normalization of PHLA was much slower than that of the usual tests of liver function. PHLA measurement may represent a new and sensitive test of liver function. |