Alcoholic Liver Disease Flashcards
INR was about 1.8
Note how the bilirubin is almost 12x elevated and alk phos is normal in this alcoholic pt.
What are the classic trends of ALT and AST with alcohol?
Both are not that elevated and AST is typically at least double what the ALT is
Alcoholic liver disease is especially prevelant in what demographic?
Native Americans, especially in women
What are the major causes of chronic liver disease in the US?
Hep C
Alcohol
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Hep B
Most inflammation assoicated with liver disease is primarily _____, except ______ which is neutrophilic
lymphocytic, except alcoholic liver disease
What are some of the components/sequelae of alcoholic liver disease?
- steatosis
- alcoholic hepatitis
- alcoholic cirrhosis, HCC, and rarely cholangiocarcinoma
How much alcohol is usually enough to induce alcoholic liver disease?
It usually requires more than 40-80g/day (aka 6+ drinks/day) over a 5 yr duration
for reference, a 12 gm= 12 oz beer, 4 ozwine, 1 oz liquor
Compared to men who typically require up to 6 drinks/day + to develop alcoholic liver disease, women can develop it with only 3 drinks/day. What account for this difference?
- Women tend to be smaller (less volume of distribution)
- women have decreased gastric alcohol dehydrogenase activity, particularly in younger women
- there are differences in first pass metabolism of alcohol
What is the standard alcoholic hepatitis pt?
- typically 40-60 yo
- 80+ gm/dy of EtOH over 5 yrs
How does alcoholic hepatitis present intitially?
usually this is a slow developing process but pts will present with acute symptoms that can come on rapidly (after a ‘tipping’ pt) like rapid onset of jaundice, fever, ascites, and/or muscle wasting
and tend to have signs of hepato/splenomegaly with tenderness on physical exam
How does alcoholic hepatitis present in labs?
- AST/ALT rarely over 300 (300+ think alcohol plus something else- tylenol, cocaine, etc.)
- AST 2+x ALT
- leukocytosis
- Elevated INR
Why is the liver enlarged in alcoholic hepatitis?
fatty infiltration
What is the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis in pts. drinking 30-60 gm EtOH/day? 120+ gm/day?
30-60: 1%
120+: 5%
Even if you drink heavily, you are unlikely to get cirrhosis!
Genetics has been proposed as one of the reasons why some people who drink heavily (or maybe not so heavily) get ALD and others do not. What genetic groups are particularly at risk?
- monozygotic twins regardless of environment
- East Asians, with polymorphisms of ADH2*1 gene
- TNFa-238 polymorphism in causasians
How does EtOH cause liver injury?
Ethanol and acetylaldehyde cause intestinal injury and increase permeability resulting in endotoxemia resulting in an inflammatory response by Kupffer cells
What is the two-hit theory of ALD development?
1) Hit 1: Fatty liver induction
2) Hit 2: Inflammation/necrosis/ hypoxia etc.
What are some things that can induce the first Hit of the 2 Hit theory of ALD?
- oxidative stress related to alcohol
- increased NADH/NAD ratio
- obesity and/or DM
fat sensitives the liver to the 2nd hit
What are some predictive scores used for prognosis of ALD?
-Maddrey Score
0Glasgow Alcoholic Hepatitis Score
-MELD