Gastro 2 Flashcards
Define appendicectomy
Removal of the appendix
Summarise the indications of an appendicectomy
Appendicitis -
- Abdominal pain
- Fever
- Clinical signs of localized or diffuse peritonitis
- Especially if leukocytosis present
List possible complications of appendicectomy
- Surgical wound infection
- Haemorrhage
- Ileus
Summarise epidemiology of Crohn’s disease
- 100-200 per 100000 prevalence
- 10-20/100000 per year incidence
- Typically presents age 20-40
List signs of Crohns disease
- Perianal lesions (skin tags, fistulae.ect)
- Bowel obstruction (distention, borborygmi)
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Abdominal tenderness
- Oral lesions
- Abdominal mass (teminal ileum in right lower quadrant)
- Erythema nodosum or pyoderma gangrenosum, uveitis or episcleritis
- Clubbing
List investigations of Crohns
- FBC (anaemia, Leukocytosis, thrombocytosis)
- Iron deficiency
- B12 - normal/low
- Serum folate (normal/low)
- Metabolic panel (hypoalbuminaemia, hypocholesterolaemia, hypocalcaemia)
- CRP and ESR raised
- Stool testing (C diff should be absent, calprotectin)
- Y enterolitica
- Abdominal X ray (small bowel dilation, calcification, sacroilitis, intra-abdominal abscesses)
- CT abdomen (skip lesions, bowel wall thickening, surrounding inflammation, abscess, fistulae)
- MRI abdo/pelvis (same as above)
- Faecal calprotectin
- Colonoscopy, biopsy
Describe management of Crohn’s disease
Mildly active
- Observation with monitoring or budesonide
- Prednisolone 40mg + mesalazine, then taper
- Management of extra-intestinal manifestations
Moderately active
- Budenoside or corticosteroids, mesalazine (aminosalicylate)
- Antibiotics + manage extra-intestinal manifestations
- Alternatively to budenoside, immunomodulator therapy (azathioprine, mercaptopurine, methotrexate) or biological therapy (infliximab, adalimumab)
Severely active
- Hospitalisation, corticosteroids, surgery plus manage extras plus antibiotics plus immunomodulators and steroids
- 2nd line biologics
List complications of Crohn’s disease
- Intestinal obstruction
- Pregnancy complications due to immunosuppressant
- Intra-abdominal sepsis
- Sinuses
- Fistula
- Toxic megacolon
- Anaemia
- Short bowel syndrome
- Malignancy
- Kidney stones
- Methotrexate induced hepatotoxicity or pulmonary fibrosis
- Malabsorption
- Metabolic bone disease
- Cholelithiasis
- Primary sclerosing cholangitis
- Hepatic steatosis
- Liver abscess
- Granulomatous hepatitis
- Arthropathy
- Ocular manifestations
- Cutaneous manifestations
Describe prognosis of Crohns
- Intermittent exacerbations followed by periods of remission with 10-20%
- 90% have surgery by 10 years, 50% never require further surgery
- Up to 1/3rd of patients with gastroduodenal require gastrojejunostomy bypasss
- Severe disease if age under 40, presence of peri-anal disease, initial requirement for steroids
- Colon cancer leading cause of disease-related death. Associated with decrease in life expectancy
List causes of hepatomegaly
- Cancer
- Cirrhosis
- Cardiac (congestive cardiac failure and pericarditis)
- Infilration - fatty, haemochromatosis, amyloidosis, sarcoidosis, lymphoroliferative diseases
List causes of splenomegaly
- Portal hypertension
- Haematological
- Infection
- Inflammation
Describe symptoms and signs of AAA
- Pain, epigastric region, radiating to the back
- Hypotension
- Grey turners sign if retroperitoneal bleed
Describe differences between acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis
Acute
- Pain
- High amylase on blood test
Chronic
- Pain
- Weight loss
- Loss of exocrine/endocrine function
- Normal amylase
- Fecal elastase in stool
List arteries of the bowel and what they supply
- Coeliac - stomach, spleen, liver, gallbladder, duodenum
- SMA - SI, right colon
- IMA - Left colon
- Ileomesenteric - Rectum
Describe different classifications of ascites and what causes it (2 types of classification)
- Transudate - cirrhosis, cardiac failure, nephrotic syndrome
- Exudate - malignancy (abdominal, pelvic, mesothelioma), infection (TB, pyogenic), budd-chiari syndrome (portal vein thrombosis)
Serum albumin minus ascites albumin:
- Over 11g caused by cirrhosis or cardiac failure
- Less than 11g/L TB, cancer, nephrotic syndrome
List causes of jaundice and their different presentations
- Prehepatic - haemolysis, defective conjugation, high unconjugated bilirubin - pale, yellow skin
- Hepatic- hepatitis (alcohol, autoimmune, drugs, viruses - dark urine due to high conjugated bilrubin)
- Post hepatic - CBD obstruction (gallstone, stricture, ca. head of pancreas - decreased stercobilinogen, pale stool)
What is trousseau sign of malignancy?
- In pancreatic cancer
- Migratory thrombophlebitis
List different cancer markers for abdo and pelvis
- ca 19-9 pancreatic
- CEA colon cancer
- ca125 ovarian
What is thumbprinting?
- Sign on abdominal X ray
- Thickening of the bowel wall
Describe management of an acute GI bleed
- ABC
- IV access
- Fluids
- G and S
- OGD
- Variceal bleed - antibiotics and terlipressin
Describe management of an acute abdomen
- Nil by mouth
- IV fluids
- Analgesics
- Consider antibiotics and antiemetics
- Consult surgeons
- Monitor vitals and urine output
Investigations - FBC, U%E, LFT, CRP, Clotting, G&S, X-match
- Erect CXR
- CT
List investigations performed in Jaundice
- FBC
- LFT
- CRP
- USS
List investigations in a patient with weight loss and dysphagia/PR bleed
Dysphagia
- OGD
- Biopsy
PR bleed
- Colonoscopy
List causes of bloody diarrhoea
- Infective collitis
- Inflammatory colitis
- Ischaemic colitis
- Diverticulitis
- Malignancy
Describe management plan of ascites
- diuretics
- Dietary sodium restriction
- fluid restriction if hyponatraemia
- Monitor wt
- Therapeutic paracentesis (with IV human albulin)
List signs of surgical wound infection
- Erythematosus discharge
List signs of anastomotic leak post surgery
- Diffuse abdominal tenderness
- Guarding
- Rigidity
- Hypotension/tachycardia
List features of pelvic abscess post op
- Pain
- Fever
- Sweats
- Mucus
- Diarrhoea
Describe presentation and treatment of perianal abscess
- Tender, red swelling
- Incision and drainage
Describe troisiers sign
Palpable vircows node
Define primary biliary cirrhosis
- A chronic disease of the small intrahepatic bile ducts that is characterised by progressive bile duct damage (and eventual loss) occurring in the context of chronic portal tract inflammation.
- Fibrosis develops as a consequence of the original insult and the secondary effects of toxic bile acids retained in the liver, resulting ultimately in cirrhosis.
- Thought to be autoimmune
Describe epidemiology of primary biliary cirrhosis
- 35 per 100000 overall
- 5 per 100000 per year
- More common in women (10 times)
- Peak age 55-65 years
- Highest risk: european and american women over 50, prevalence of 1 in 750
List symptoms of primary biliary cirrhosis
- Itch
- Fatigue
- Dry eyes and mouth
- Sleep disturbance
- Dizziness/blackouts
- Weight loss and other features of malabsorption
- Memory and concentration problems
- May be asymptomatic
List signs for primary biliary cirrhosis
- Jaundice
- Ascites
- Splenomegaly
- Skin pigmentation
- Xanthelasma
- Hepatomegaly
List risk factors for primary biliary cirrhosis
- Age 45-60
- Female
- History of autoimmune disease (family or personal) and primary biliary cholangitis
- Smoking
- UTI
List investigations of primary biliary cirrhosis
- Alkaline phosphatase (increased)
- Gamma GT (increased)
- Bilirubin (increased)
- Alanine aminotransferase (increased)
- Serum albumin (decreased)
- Antimitochondrial antibody immunofluorescence (present - HALLMARK)
- Antinuclear antibody
- Antipyruvate dehydrogenase complex ELISA and anti-M2 ELISA (present)
- Antiglycoprotein ELISA
- Anti Sp100 ELISA
- Abdominal ultrasound scan (no obstructive lesion)
- MR cholangiopancreatography (no obstructive lesion)
- Prothrombin time
- Serum immunoglobulin
- Liver biopsy (bile duct lesions and granulomata formation, and loss of bile ducts with fibrosis in later stages)
- Upper GI endoscopy
- Serum alpha-fetoprotein
Describe FBC in anaemia due to GI bleed
- Low MCV and Hb
- High platelet count
Define cholecystitis
Acute gallbladder inflammation, and one of the major complications of cholelithiasis or gallstones
Describe epidemiology of cholecystitis
- Cholelithiasis occurs in approximately 15% of adults.
- The prevalence rates are relatively low in Africa and Asia.
- About 1% to 2% of people with asymptomatic gallstones become symptomatic each year.- Acute cholecystitis occurs in about 10% of symptomatic patients.
- It is 3 times more common in women than in men up to the age of 50 years, and is about 1.5 times more common in women than in men thereafter
Describe aetiology of cholecystitis
- Starvation, total parenteral nutrition, narcotic analgesics, and immobility are predisposing factors for acute acalculous cholecystitis.
- It has also been described as a rare occurrence during the course of acute Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and can be an atypical clinical presentation of primary EBV infection.
- Generally due to gallstones
- Can also occur in helminth infection
List risk factors for cholecystitis
- Gallstones (90%)
- Previous episode of biliary pain
- Severe illness
- Gallbladder dysmotility or ischaemia may occur in critically ill patients, increasing the risk of cholecystitis.
- Physical activity level
- Ceftriaxone vauses precipitation of calcium salts into bile.
- Ciclosporin can decrease bile acid secretion, which may predispose to sludge or stone formation.
Risk factors for acalculous cholecystitis
- Severe trauma or burns – patients with extensive burns commonly have multiple risk factors for developing acalculous cholecystitis, such as sepsis, dehydration, total parenteral nutrition use, and positive pressure ventilation
- Major surgery (such as cardiopulmonary bypass)
- Long-term fasting
- Total parenteral nutrition
- Sepsis arising from any infection (including pneumonia)
- Diabetes mellitus – there is an increased risk of gallbladder disease in people with diabetes[18]
- Atherosclerotic disease
- Systemic vasculitis
- Acute renal failure
- HIV – cholangiopathy due to infection can occur.
List symptoms of cholecystitis
- Pain in URQ
- Fever
- Nausea
- Right shoulder pain (diaphragm)
- Anorexia
- Vomiting
List signs of cholecystitis
- Jaundice
- Tenderness in URQ (murphys sign - holding breath when you press on gallstone)
- Palpable mass
List investigations for cholecystitis
- CT or MRI of the abdomen if sepsis suspected (thickening of bladder wall)
- Abdominal ultrasound if sepsis not suspected - first investigation to identify presence of gallstones (thickened wall, distended, stone - also called hepatic imidodicetic acid scan (HIDA))
- FBC
- CRP
- Bilirubin
- LFTs (ALP, ALT, bilirubin, GGT raised)
- Serum lipase or amylase (normal)
- Blood cultures and/or bile cultures
- Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP - if USS has not detected stones)
- Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS)
Describe management of cholecystitis
If associated organ dysfunction
- IV fluids
- Antibiotics
- Analgesia
- Cholecystectomy
If not associated with organ dysfunction
- Analgesia
- IV fluid resusitation
- Antibiotics
- Early laproscopic cholecystectomy or percutaneous cholecystectomy
List complications of cholecystitis
- Suppurative cholecystitis (abscess formation)
- Bile duct injury due to surgery
- Gallstone ileus (enterotomy)
- Cholecystoenteric fistula
Describe prognosis of cholecystitis
- Removing the gallbladder and the contained gallstones when biliary pain starts will prevent further biliary attacks and reduce the risk of developing cholecystitis. If the gallbladder perforates, mortality is 30%.
- Untreated acute acalculous cholecystitis is life-threatening and is associated with up to 50% mortality.
Describe aetiology of acute cholangitis
- The most common aetiology of acute cholangitis is cholelithiasis leading to choledocholithiasis and biliary obstruction. E coli most common pathogen
- Iatrogenic biliary duct injury, most commonly caused via surgical injury during cholecystectomy, can lead to benign strictures, which can in turn lead to obstruction (with or without secondary sclerosing cholangitis).
- Other causes of benign biliary stricture include chronic pancreatitis (with stenosis and stricture of the distal common bile duct, which has an intrapancreatic course), radiation-induced biliary injury, or biliary injury as a complication of systemic chemotherapy (e.g., fluorodeoxyuridine).
- Sclerosing cholangitis causes 24%
- Malignancy unlikely
List risk factors for acute cholangitis
- Age over 50 years
- History of cholelithiasis
- Primary or secondary sclerosing cholangitis
- Stricture of the biliary tree (benign or malignant)
- Post-procedure injury of bile ducts (surgical, endoscopic, or radiological intervention with resulting inadequate biliary drainage).
Describe epidemiology of acute cholangitis
- Cholangitis is relatively uncommon, presenting as a complication in about 1% of patients with cholelithiasis.
- The male-to-female ratio is equal.
- The median age of presentation is between 50 and 60 years.
- About 1% to 3% of patients develop cholangitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, usually due to inadequate steps taken to ensure biliary drainage.
- Recurrent oriental pyogenic cholangitis is more common in the eastern hemisphere than in the western hemisphere.
List complications of acute cholangitis
- Acute pancreatitis
- Hepatic abscess
- Inadequate biliary drainage following radiology, surgery or endoscopy
Describe prognosis of acute cholangitis
- Most patients experience rapid clinical improvement once adequate biliary drainage is achieved, with improvement in haemodynamic parameters and systemic inflammatory response parameters.
- For patients with significant underlying medical conditions and those in whom decompression is delayed, prognosis is poorer.
- Predictive factors for poor prognosis include hyperbilirubinaemia, high fever, leukocytosis, older age, and hypoalbuminaemia.
- Patients requiring emergent surgery have higher rates of morbidity and mortality than those managed acutely with non-operative procedures.
Describe management of gallstones
ACUTE
symptomatic cholelithiasis
- 1st line – cholecystectomy
Choledocholithiasis with or without symptoms
- 1st line – endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)
- Adjunct – lithotripsy, papillary balloon dilation, or long-term biliary stenting
- 2nd line – laparoscopic common bile duct exploration
ONGOING
- Asymptomatic cholelithiasis
1st line – observation (watch and wait)
List possible complications of gallstones
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)- associated pancreatitis
- Iatrogenic bile duct injuries
- Post-sphincterotomy bleeding
- Bouveret syndrome
- Gallstone ileus
- Cholecystitis
- Acute (ascending) cholangitis
- Acute biliary pancreatitis
- Mirizzi syndrome
Describe prognosis of gallstones
- The outlook for patients with symptomatic cholelithiasis managed by cholecystectomy is favourable.
- The same holds for patients with choledocholithiasis who undergo endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) with biliary sphincterotomy and stone extraction, followed later by cholecystectomy.
- Risk factors for recurrent choledochal problems are common with: bile duct dilatation to >15mm; a periampullary diverticulum; brown pigment stones; or the gallbladder being left intact.
List Abdo scars and their uses
- Midline (majority of organ acess)
- Kocher (gall bladder/biliary tree, open cholecystectomy)
- Gridiron (appendix)
- Lanz (appendix)
- Pfannensteil (Cesarian)
- Rutherford morrison (access ascending colon)
- Paramedian (kidneys, spleen, adrenals)
Describe aetiology of haemochromatosis
Most common mutations C282Y and H63D in the HFE gene
List risk factors of haemochromatosis
- Middle age
- Male gender
- White ancestry
- Family history
- Supplemental iron
Describe epidemiology of haemochromatosis
- Type 1 primarily in northern European descent
- 1 in 10 white people heterozygous for major HFE mutation
- Equal heterozygote frequency in males and females, but more common condition in men
List investigations for haemochromatosis
- Serum transferrin saturation (over 45%)
- Serum ferritin (raised)
- Serum iron raised
- Decreased total iron binding capacity
- HFE mutation analysis
- MRI liver (liver to muscle signal intensity decreased)
- Liver biopsy (raised iron, shown by prussian blue staining)
- LFTs (Aminotransferase raised)
- Fasting blood sugar (raised)
- Echocardiogram
- ECG (decreased QRS amplitude and T wave flattening or inversion)
- Testosterone/FSH/LH (lower)
- Bone densitometry (osteopenia or osteoporosis, radiograph symptomatic joints)
Define pancreatic cancer
Primary pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, which accounts for >85% of all pancreatic neoplasms.
Describe epidemiology of pancreatic cancer
- Poor prognosis
- Median age of diagnosis 70, median age of death 72
- 7.6 in 100000 people per year in men, 4.9 per 100000 per year in women
- Overall median survival from diagnosis 4.6 months
- 128000 deaths in 2018 in europe
Describe aetiology of pancreatic cancer
- Smoking
- 5-10% of cases inherited component (hereditary pancreatitis, Peutz-Jeghers syndrome, familial atypical multiple mole melanoma, familial breast cancer syndrome, non-polyposis colorectal cancer syndrome)
List risk factors for pancreatic cancer
- Age 65-75
- Smoking
- Family history of pancreatic cancer/ other hereditary cancer syndromes
- Chronic sporadic pancreatitis
- Diabetes mellitus
- Obesity
- Dietary factors
- Alcohol
List signs and symptoms of pancreatic cancer
- Jaundice
- Upper abdominal pain or discomfort
- Weight loss and anorexia
- Steatorrhoea
- Thirst, polyuria, nocturia, weight loss (new onset diabetes)
- Nausea, vomiting, anorexia, mid-epigastric pain
- Hepatomegaly (metastasis)
- Epigastric abdominal mass
- Positive courvoisiers sign (painless palpable gallbladder and jaundice)
- Petechiae, purpura, bruising (DIC - advanced disease)
- Trousseaus sign (thrombophlebitis of lower limb)
Describe investigations for pancreatic cancer
- Abdominal ultrasound (pancreatic mass, dilated bile ducts, liver mets), CT CAP
- Pancreatic protocol CT (mass)
- LFTs (degree of obstructive jaundice - bilirubin, ALP and GGT raised, animotransferases normal)
- PT (prolonged)
- FBC (anaemia in GI bleed, low platelets in DIC)
- CA19-9 (70-90% sensitivity, 90% specificity)
- PET
- ERCP
- MR cholagiopancreatography
- Endoscopic ultrasound
- Staging laparoscopy
- Biopsy GOLD STANDARD
Define acute liver failure
- a rapid decline in hepatic function characterised by jaundice, coagulopathy (INR >1.5), and hepatic encephalopathy in patients with no evidence of prior liver disease
- Classified as hyperacute, acute, or subacute
Describe epidemiology of acute liver failure
- 2000 cases anually in the US
- Most patients women
- Mean age 38
- Spontaneous recovery without liver transplant 45%, with 30% overall mortality
Describe aetiology of acute liver failure
- Paracetamol overdose most common cause in the UK and US
- 66% of cases in UK due to paracetamol
- Other causes drug induced, acute hep B, autoimmune Hepatitis, ischaemic hepatitis, and acute hep A
- Viral infection most common in Bangladesh and India (HEV) and Japan (HBV)
List risk factors for acute liver failure
- Chronic alcohol abuse
- Poor nutritional status
- Female sex
- Age >40 years
- Pregnancy (and hep E)
- Chronic hepatitis B
- Chronic pain and narcotic use
- Complementary and alternative medicine hepatotoxicity
- Paracetamol and antidepressant therapy
- Chronic hepatitis C
- HIV and hepatitis C co-infection
List symptoms of acute liver failure
- Abdominal pain
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Malaise
List signs of acute liver failure
- Jaundice
- Hepatic encephalopathy (impaired awareness, sleep alteration, personality change, dyspraxia, strange behaviour)
- Cerebral oedema (abnormal pupillary reflexes, papilloedema, muscular rigidity)
- RUQ tenderness
- Hepatomegaly
- NO splenomegaly, spider angiomata, palmar erythema, ascites
Describe investigations of acute liver failure
- LFT (high bilirubin and liver enzymes)
- Prothrombin/INR
- Basic metabolic panel (elevated urea and creatinine)
- FBC
- Blood type and screen
- ABG (metabolic acidosis)
- Arterial blood lactate (prognostic in paracetamol associated)
- Paracetamol
- Urine toxicology (paracetamol)
- Factor 5 level (low with hepatic encephalopathy suggests high risk of mortality)
- Viral hepatitis serology
- Autoimmune hepatitis markers
- Pregnancy test
- CXR (possible aspiration pneumonia)
- Abdo doppler ultrasound (hepatic vessel thrombosis, hepatomegaly)
- PCR
- Serum ceruloplasmin (low in wilsons disease)
- Serum copper/24hr copper excretion
- Arterial ammonia
- HIV test
- Coombs test (autoimmune haemolysis coombs positive)
- Liver biopsy (hepatocellular necrosis, microvesicular steatosis, viral inclusions, elevated hepatic copper)
Describe treatment of acute liver failure
- Intensive care management (monitoring, raise head of bed, reduce surrounding stimuli, tracheal intubation in advanced encephalopathy, propofol and fentanyl for analgesia and sedation, IV fluids with caution, nutritional support, PPI)
- Liver transplantation assessment
- Neurological status monitoring for advanced encephalopathy
- Monitoring of blood glucose (every 1-2 hours), electrolytes (twice daily, correct), and cultures
Paracetamol-related or with mild to moderate (grade 1 or 2) hepatic encephalopathy
- Acetylcysteine
With herpes simplex hepatitis
- Aciclovir
With acute fatty liver of pregnancy or the haemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet (HELLP) syndrome
- Expedient delivery of the fetus
With suspected Amanita phalloides poisoning
- Intravenous fluids + gastric lavage + activated charcoal
- Benzylpenicillin
- Acetylcysteine
With autoimmune hepatitis
- Methylprednisolone
With acute hepatitis B
- Oral nucleoside or nucleotide analogue
With acute Budd-Chiari syndrome
- Anticoagulation
- Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)
with acute Wilson’s disease
- Measures to decrease serum copper
List complications of acute liver failure
- Rapidly progressing hepatic encephalopathy
- Coagulopathy
- Infection
- Renal failure and haemodynamic changes
- Metabolic disorders
- Cerebral oedema
- Gastrointestinal bleeding
Describe prognosis of acute liver failure
- 75% paracetamol induced recover without liver transplant
- Hep B, drug induced or indeterminate cause only 25-41% spontaneous recovery
- Patients who have liver transplant higher risk of death within the first 2 months following transplant, and commonly require retransplant
List symptoms of cirrhosis
- Fagigue, weight loss, weakness
- Lower extremity swelling
- Hepatic fetor (smelly breath)
- Dyspnoea
- Chest pain
- Syncope
- Decreased libido
- Recurrent infections
List risk factors for cirrhosis
- Alcohol misuse
- Intravenous drug use
- Unprotected intercourse
- Obesity
- Country of birth (Hep B and C)
- Blood transfusion
- Tattooing
Describe epidemiology of cirrhosis
- Liver disease 3rd biggest cause of premature mortality in the UK - 62000 working life years lost
- 170000 deaths in 2002 in Europ3
- In US and Europe, most cases caused by viral hepatitis, alcoholic liver disease and NAFLD
Describe investigations for cirrhosis
- Liver function tests (deranged)
- Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT high)
- Serum albumin (low)
- Serum sodium (low)
- Prothrombin time (increased)
- Platelet count (reduced)
- Antibodies to hepatitis C virus
- Hepatitis B surface antigen
- Total iron (high), total iron binding capacity (TIBC low), transferrin saturation (high), and ferritin (high) - haemochromatosis
- Antinuclear antibody, antismooth muscle antibody, antimitochondrial antibody
- Serum ceruloplasmin
- Plasma alpha-1 antitrypsin
- Serum protein electrophoresis
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Abdominal CT + MRI
- Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy
- Liver biopsy
Describe management of cirrhosis
- Treat underlying liver disease and prevent hepatic insult (eg. oral antivirals, avoid alcohol and hepatotoxic drugs, immunise, manage risk factors)
- Monitoring (ultrasound, endoscopy, CT, MRI)
- Sodium restriction and diuretic therapy (spironolactone/furosimide)
- Diagnostic paracentesis of ascites
- Liver transplant
Encephalopathy
- Treat precipitating event (antibiotics, GI bleed management)
- Oral lactulose (reduces ammonia in the gut), phosphate enema
- Avoid sedatives
List complications of cirrhosis
- Ascites
- Gastro-oesophageal varices
- Hepatocellular carcinoma
- Bleeding and thrombosis
- Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
- Hepatic hydrothorax
- Portosystemic encephalopathy
- Acute kidney injury-hepatorenal syndrome (AKI-HRS)
- Hepatopulmonary syndrome
- Portopulmonary hypertension
- Hypogonadism and feminisation
- Hepatic osteodystrophy
Describe prognosis of cirrhosis
- Median survival 10 years
- Prongosis depends on disease
- Compensated 90% 10 year survival, transitions to decompensated in 50%
- Median survival time in decompensated 2 years
- Four clinical stages of cirrhosis have been identified and each is associated with a different prognosis.
- Stage 1 - patients without gastro-oesophageal varices or ascites have a mortality of approximately 1% per year.
- Stage 2 - patients with gastro-oesophageal varices (but no bleeding) and no ascites have a mortality of approximately 4% per year.
- Stage 3 - patients with ascites with or without gastro-oesophageal varices (but no bleeding) have a mortality of approximately 20% per year.
- Stage 4 - patients with GI bleeding due to portal hypertension with or without ascites have a 1-year mortality of 57%.