Q: What is the clinical significance of calculating Maddrey discriminant function (DF) in acute alcoholic hepatitis?



Answer:  Patients with a score of  DF value more than or equal to 32 may have high  mortality and may need institution of glucocorticoids, whereas those with lower scores may get treated only with enteral nutrition!!

Formula to calculate 

DF = (4.6 x [prothrombin time (sec) - control prothrombin time (sec)]) + (serum bilirubin)


For bilirubin in système international (SI) units (micromol/L): 
DF = (4.6 x [prothrombin time (sec) - control prothrombin time (sec)]) + (serum bilirubin/17.1)