🫀 Maddrey Discriminant Function (Alcoholic Hepatitis)
Grade alcoholic hepatitis severity with the Maddrey discriminant function (DF).
Maddrey Discriminant Function (Alcoholic Hepatitis)
Patient prothrombin time (s)
Control PT (s)
Total bilirubin (mg/dL)
When to use
Decide on corticosteroid therapy in alcoholic hepatitis.
How it works
DF = 4.6 × (patient PT − control PT) + total bilirubin (mg/dL). DF ≥ 32 = severe.
Key points
- DF ≥ 32 indicates severe disease with high short-term mortality.
- The classic threshold for considering corticosteroids.
- Reassess steroid response with the Lille score; MELD also used.
References
Decision support for licensed clinicians only; not a substitute for clinical judgement, diagnosis or local protocols.