Diseases of the Hepatobiliary System 1 Flashcards
At what level of bilirubin is jaundice visible?
> 40micromol/l
What is the commonest sign of liver disease?
Jaundice
What is the cause of pre-hepatic jaundice?
Haemolytic uraemia
What is the general principle cause of hepatic jaundice?
Too few functioning liver cells
Give 3 causes of hepatic jaundice?
1) Acute diffuse liver cell injury
2) End stage chronic liver disease
3) Inborn errors
What is the cause of post hepatic jaundice?
Bile duct obstruction - eg. stone stricture or tumour (nb. could be in liver or pancreas)
What kind of bilirubin is produced by red cell breakdown?
Unconjugated
Where is bilirubin conjugated?
In the liver
Pre-hepatic jaundice is raised levels of what kind of bilirubin?
Unconjugated, bound to albumin, not exctreted
What are the 2 symptoms a patient notices with pre hepatic jaundice?
Yellow sclera
Yellow skin
ie. doesnt reach anywhere else as it is in soluble and cant be excreted
What kind of bilirubin is raised in hepatic jaundice, is it soluble?
Mainly conjugated, soluble
What are the 2 main symptoms that a patient notices with hepatic jaundice?
1) yellow eyes
2) dark urine
(Soluble so can get in urine)
What kind of bilirubin is raised in post hepatic jaundice?
Conjugated - it is soluble but cant be excreted
What 3 symptoms does a patient notice with post hepatic jaundice?
1) Pale stool
2) Yellow eyes
3) Dark urine
What 2 liver enzymes leak from hepatocytes, how would there levels in acute and chronic liver disease differ?
AST and ALT
Chronic - mild increase over time
Acute - severe acute liver disease
What enzyme leaks from bile ducts?
Alkaline Phosphate
Is albumin raised or lowered in chronic liver disease?
Lowered
Does albumin have a long or short half life?
Long half life
Are clotting factors raised or reduced in liver disease?
Low in liver disease
Do clotting factors have a long or short half life?
Short
What is the first histopathological sign of obstructive jaundice?
Bile in the liver parenchyma (hence patient is yellow)
As time goes on what are the 4 other histopathological signs of obstructive jaundice?
1) Portal tract expansion
2) Oedema
3) Ductular reaction - proloferation of duictules aroudn the edge
4) Bile salts and copper cant get out - accumulated in hepatocytes and patient gets itchy as bile salts accumulate in skin
What are most non obstructive cases of jaundice due to?
Hepatitis
What is the process of investigation of jaundice?
USS to check for dilated ducts in obstruction
Only in no dilated ducts then do a liver biopsy to look for cause of jaundice
What is hepatitis?
Inflammation of the liver - essentially any liver disease that is non neoplastic
What happens to liver enzymes in hepatitis?
Raised
What is the broad difference between causes of acute hepatitis and chronic hepatitis?
Acute - caused by something which goes away
Chronic - caused by something which doesnt go away
Doe hepatitis always have symptoms?
No - its commonly asymptomatic
What are the 2 milder symptoms of hepatitis?
1) Malaise
2) Jaundice
What can be the haematological effect of hepatitis?
Coagulopathy
What are the 2 most serious presentations of hepatitis?
1) Encephalopathy
2) death