Liver function abnormality in patients with advanced schistosomiasis
Liver function is closely related to the progression of schistosomiasis japonica. The results in patients with adequate laboratory tests of the hepatic profiles were shown in Table 2 . It was observed that liver function varies among patients in different stages of schistosomiasis. Except for ALT and HDL, there were some differences between the two groups in other liver function-related markers, including TBIL, DBIL, ALB, and AST, and blood lipid related indicators, including TC, TG, and LDL. Patients with advanced schistosomiasis had a higher incidence of liver function abnormality and blood lipid than those with chronic schistosomiasis, which might be due to a longer history, more severe disease progression, and older age. The rate of liver function abnormality was significantly higher in patients with advanced schistosomiasis than that in those with chronic schistosomiasis (Fig 1, Table 2