Liver + Flashcards
What are the 2 types of liver injury?
Acute = usually recover, but then goes to liver failure
Chronic = cirrhosis, liver failure, varies, hepatoma
What does the liver do?
- protein synthesis
- defence against infection (reticuloendothelial system)
- glucose and fat metabolism
- detoxification and excretion
What are the causes of acute liver injuries?
- viral (A,B, EBV)
- drug
- alcohol
- vascular
- obstruction
- congestion
What are the causes of chronic liver injury?
Alcohol
Viral (B,C)
Autoimmune
Metabolic (iron, copper overload)
What are the symptoms of acute liver failure?
- Malaise
- nausea
- anorexia
- jaundice
rarer
- confusion
- bleeding
- liver pain
- hypoglycaemia
(^suggestive that it has moved form liver injury to liver failure)
What are the presentations of chronic liver injury?
ascites,
oedema
haematemesis (vomiting of blood, varices)
malaise,
anorexia,
wasting
easy bruising,
itching
hepatomegaly,
abnormal LFTs
rarer:
- jaundice
- confusion
What is measured in serum liver function test?
- serum bilirubin <20
- albumin
- prothrombin time = elevations shows liver disease
Serum liver enzymes
- alkaline phosphatase
- gamma GT
- transaminases
What is ALT and what is it a marker for?
ALT is found in high concentrations within hepatocytes and enters the blood following hepatocellular injury.
It is a useful marker of hepatocellular injury.
What is ALP and what is it a marker for in an LFT?
ALP is particularly concentrated in the liver, bile duct and bone tissues. ALP is often raised in liver pathology due to increased synthesis in response to cholestasis.
ALP is a useful indirect marker of cholestasis.
What is GGT and what is it a marker for in a LFT?
Gamma-glutamyl transferase
- a raised GGT suggests biliary epithelial damage + bile flow obstruction
- also raised in response to alcohol + drugs
Raised ALP + GGT indicates cholestasis
What does an isolated rise of ALP indicate?
ALP in the absence of a raised GGT signifies a NON-hepatobiliary pathology
- ALP is also in bone
- increased bone breakdown can elevate ALP
What does ALT > AST signify?
Chronic liver disease
What does AST >ALT signify?
cirrhosis + acute alcoholic hepatitis
What goes up in LFT in hepatocellular liver disease?
AST and ALT
(normally found in liver cells but when the liver is damaged, can be released into the blood, making serum ALT/AST levels to rise.
1st sign of a liver problem)
What is elevated in the LFT in cholestatic liver disease?
alkaline phosphatase
gamma-GT
What is jaundice?
Raised serum bilirubin
What conditions elevate unconjugated bilirubin?
‘pre-hepatic’
- gilberts (genetic condition where you have raised unconjugated bilirubin in your blood)
- haemolysis
What conditions elevate conjugated bilirubin?
- Liver disease ‘hepatic’
- bile duct obstruction ‘post hepatic’
What does it mean if a patient is jaundiced but ALT + ALP levels are normal?
An isolated rise in bilirubin is suggestive of a pre-hepatic cause of jaundice
- Gilbert’s syndrome
- Haemolysis
What causes hepatic (conjugated) jaundice?
Hepatitis: viral, drugs immune, alcohol
Ischaemia
Neoplasm
Congestion (CCF)
What causes post-hepatic (conjugated) jaundice?
Gallstone: bile duct, Mirizzi
Stricture: malignant, ischaemic, inflammatory
What are the visible signs of pre-hepatic jaundice?
Urine = normal
stools = normal
itching = no
liver tests = normal
What are the visible signs of cholestatic jaundice?
urine = dark
stools = may be pale
itching = maybe
liver tests = abnormal
What is cholestatic jaundice?
stopping or slowing of bile flow from the liver to the small intestine due to a block (obstruction) in the biliary duct system that connects the liver and small intestine, causing the bile to remain in the liver.
It is therefore a form of obstructive jaundice.
Either hepatic or post hepatic
What investigations should be done for jaundice?
- liver enzymes = very high AST/ALT suggests liver disease
- USS for biliary obstruction = 90% have dilated intrahepatic bile ducts on ultrasound
- further imaging: (see duct blockage/dilation)
- CT
- Magnetic resonance cholangiogram MRCP
- Endoscopic retrograde cholangiogram ERCp
What does a fall in albumin indicate?
- liver disease
- inflammation triggering an acute phase response
- excessive loss of albumin due to protein-losing enteropathies or nephrotic syndrome
What is the epidemiology and RF of gallstones?
- very common: 1/3 women over 60
- 70% due to cholesterol and 30% pigment
- RF: female, fat, fertile
- most ar asymptomatic
What are the different types of gallstones?
- Gallbladder stones = contain cholesterol
- Intrahepatic bile duct stones = contain mainly brown pigment + cholesterol stones
- extrahepatic bile duct stones = primary mainly brown pigment but secondary mainly cholesterol
What are the different presentations for stones in the gallbladder vs bile duct?
Gallbladder:
biliary pain = yes
cholecystitis (inflammation of bile duct system) = yes
obstructive jaundice = maybe
cholangitis = no
pancreatitis = no
Bile duct:
biliary pain = yes
cholecystitis = no
obstructive jaundice = yes
cholangitis = yes
pancreatitis = yes
What is the management for gallbladder stones?
- Laparoscopic cholecystectomy
- Bile acid dissolution therapy (<1/3 success)
What is the management for bile duct stones?
- ERCP with sphincterotomy and: removal (basket or balloon)
crushing (mechanical, laser..)
stent placement - Surgery (large stones)
What are the types of drug induced liver injury?
- Hepatocellular = ALT >2 ULN, ALT/Alk Phos ≥ 5
- Cholestatic = Alk Phos >2 ULN or ratio ≤ 2
- Mixed = Ratio > 2 but < 5
(ULN = upper limit of normal)
What is ALT and why do we test for it?
Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) is an enzyme found inside liver cells that helps your liver break down proteins to make them easier for your body to absorb.
When your liver is damaged or inflamed, it can release ALT into your bloodstream.
High ALT –> indicate liver problem
What is ALP?
What is the time frame for developing drug induced liver injury?
5 days to 6 months after starting medication
(won’t be from taking a medication for years)
What is the most common cause of drug induced injury?
paracetamol
What are the main drugs that cause drug induced liver disease?
1) 32-45% Antibiotics (Augmentin, Flucloxacillin, Erythromycin, Septrin, TB drugs)
2) 15% CNS Drugs (Chlorpromazine, Carbamazepine Valproate, Paroxetine,
3) 5% Immunosupressants
4) 5-17% Analgesics/musculskeletal
(Diclofenac…)
5) 10% Gastrointestinal Drugs (PPIs…)
6) 10% Dietary Supplements
7) 20% Multiple drugs
What is the management of paracetamol induced fulminant hepatic failure?
N acetyl Cysteine (NAC)
Supportive treatment to correct:
- coagulation defects
- fluid electrolyte and acid base balance
- renal failure
- hypoglycaemia
- encephalopathy
What are the indicators of severe paracetamol induced liver failure?
- late presentation (the longer left after taking the paracetamol the worse the effect)
- acidosis (pH <7.3)
- prothrombin time >70s (due to liver damage)
- serum creatinine > 300 (due to renal damage)
consider emergency liver transplant otherwise 80% mortality
What are symptoms just specific to chronic liver disease?
- muscle wasting
- spider naevi (dilated blood vessels - discolouration of mole with redness around it)
- ascites (obtruding umbilicus)
What conditions cause ascites?
- chronic liver disease
- portal vein thrombosis
- hepatoma
- TB - Neoplasia (ovary, uterus, pancreas…)
- pancreatitis, cardiac causes
What are varices?
abnormal, enlarged veins
MC at gastro oesophageal junction
What is the pathogenesis of ascites?
- increased intrahepatic resistance (from obstruction)
- portal hypertension
- Ascites (low serum calcium)
OR - systemic vasodilation
- secretion of:
- renin-angiotensin
- noradrenaline
- vasopressin - fluid retention
- fluid spills out into peritoneal cavity
What is the management of ascites?
Fluid and salt restriction
Diuretics = Spironolactone
+/- Furosemide
Large-volume paracentesis + albumin
Trans-jugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS)
What effect does alcohol have on the liver?
Alcohol changes the way that hepatocytes metabolise and produce fat
- causes fat accumulation within hepatocytes (steatosis)
- either large droplet (macro vesicular) or small droplet (micro vesicular)
What can fatty liver disease lead to?
either:
1. alcoholic hepatitis
Or
cirrhosis
and both lead to acute decompensation
What are the risk factors for alcoholic liver disease?
- female
- drinking pattern, binge + quantity
- obesity
- HCV
- Genetics
What is the progression of alcoholic liver disease?
- normal
- steatosis (fatty liver)
- alcoholic steatohepatitis/fibrosis
- cirrhosis
- hepatocellular carcinoma
What is the management of ALD?
Stop drinking alcohol
Nutrition
corticosteroids (reduce inflammation)
liver transplant
What is the epidemiology of alcoholic liver disease?
most deaths are aged 55-59yrs
main cause of liver death in UK
What are the causes of portal hypertension?
cirrhosis
fibrosis
portal vein thrombosis
what is the pathology of portal hypertension?
Increased hepatic resistance
increased splanchnic blood flow
(blood flow to liver, stomach, spleen, pancreas, intestines)
What are the consequences of portal hypertension?
Varices (oseophageal, gastric…)
splenomegaly
What is the Lille score?
To assess the patient response to a liver transplant
What are some factors that cause chronic liver disease to become worse?
- constipation
- drugs (sedatives, analgesics, NSAIDs, diuretics, ACE blockers)
- GI bleed
- infection
- HYPO: Na, K, Glycaemia
- alcohol withdrawal
- other (cardiac, intracranial…)
Why are liver patients vulnerable to infection?
- impaired reticulo-endothelial function
- reduced opsonic activity (bind to substances to induce phagocytosis)
- reduced leucocyte function
- permeable gut wall
What are common sites of infection in liver patients?
- spontaneous bacterial peritonitis
- septicaemia (blood poisoning)
- pneumonia
- skin
- urinary tract
What are the causes for renal failure in liver disease?
Drugs:
- Diuretics
- NSAIDS
- ACE Inhibitors
- Aminoglycosides
Infection
GI bleeding
Myoglobinuria
Renal tract obstruction
What are the causes of coma in patients with chronic liver disease?
Hepatic encephalopathy (ammonia …)
- infection
- GI bleed
- constipation
- hypokalaemia
- drug (sedatives, analgesics)
Hyponatraemia / hypoglycaemia
Intracranial event
What are the bedside tests for encephalopathy?
Serial 7’s
WORLD backwards
Animal counting in 1 minute
Draw 5 point star
Number connection test
What are other consequences of liver dysfunction?
Malnutrition
Coagulopathy
- impaired coagulation factor synthesis
- vitamin K deficiency (cholestasis)
- thrombocytopenia
Endocrine changes
- gynaecomastia
- impotence
- amenorrhoea
Hypoglycaemia (+/-)
What analgesia do you give in liver disease?
sensitive to opiates
- NSAIDs cause renal failure
- paracetamol safest
What drug can you use for sedation in liver disease?
use short-acting benzodiazepines
How do you treat the consequences of liver disease?
Malnutrition
- naso-gastric feeding
Variceal bleeding:
- endoscopic banding
- propranolol, terlipressin
Encephalopathy:
- lactulose
Ascites / oedema:
- salt / fluid restriction
- diuretics, paracentesis
Infections:
- antibiotics
What steps should you follow when liver patients get worse?
1 ABC: Airway, Breathing, Circulation
2 Look at chart
- vital signs, O2, BM(glucose), drug chart
3 Look at patient
- focus of infection? bleeding?
4 Tests
- FBC, U&E, blood cultures, ascitic fluid clotting, LFTs …
What are the causes of chronic liver disease?
Alcohol
Non Alcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH)
Viral hepatitis (B, C)
Immune
- autoimmune hepatitis
- primary biliary cirrhosis
- sclerosing cholangitis
Metabolic
- haemochromatosis
- Wilson’s
- 1 antitrypsin deficiency…
Vascular
- Budd-Chiari
What are the investigations of chronic liver disease?
Viral serology
- hepatitis B surface antigen, hepatitis C antibody
Immunology
- autoantibodies
- AMA, ANA, ASMA,
- coeliac antibodies
- immunoglobulins
Biochemistry
- iron studies
- copper studies
- caeruloplasmin
- 24 hr urine copper
- 1-antitrypsin level
- lipids, glucose
Radiological investigations
- USS / CT / MRI
What are the normal levels in an LFT?
Bilirubin n<21
Albumin n>35
AST n<60
ALT n<41
Prothrombin time n<11.8
What is hepatitis?
Inflamed liver
What are the types of autoimmune liver disease?
- Primary biliary cholangitis
- sclerosing cholangitis
- autoimmune hepatitis
What is primary biliary cholangitis?
Is a chronic disease in which the intrahepatic bile ducts in your liver are slowly destroyed
What are the symptoms of primary biliary cholangitis?
- severe itching
- dry eyes
- joint pains
- variceal bleeding
- liver failure: ascites, jaundice
What is the treatment for the cholestatic itch?
UDCA, antihistamines - little help
Cholestyramine (helps in 50% of cases)
Rifampicin effective (occasionally damages liver)
Opiate antagonists
Also: ultraviolet light
plasmapheresis
liver transplantation
What is the effect of Ursodeoxycholic acid in Primary Biliary Cholangitis?
- improvement in liver enzymes, bilirubin
- subtle reduction in inflammation (not fibrosis)
- reduced portal pressure and rate of variceal development
- reduces rate of death or liver transplantation
What is primary sclerosing cholangitis?
Progressive chronic inflammation of intrahepatic AND/OR extrahepatic bile ducts
- inflammation causes scars within the bile ducts
What autoimmune disease is PSC associated with?
Inflammatory bowel disease
What are the symptoms of PSC?
- itching
- pain +/- rigors
- higher rate of developing cholangiocarcinoma
What is haemochromatosis?
An inherited condition where iron levels in the body slowly build up over years
- accumulates around the body damaging organs, including the liver
- autosomal recessive
What are the symptoms of haemochromatosis?
- fatigue all the time
- weight loss
- weakness
- joint pain
- erectile dysfunction
- irregular period or absent period
- skin pigmentation (bronze)
- hair loss
What is alpha 1 anti trypsin?
- is a protein made by neutrophil cells in the liver to protect the lungs from damage
What is alpha 1 anti trypsin deficiency?
Alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a genetic disorder with an autosomal inheritance pattern and codominant expression of alleles.
Allele mutations cause ineffective activity of alpha-1 antitrypsin, the enzyme responsible for neutralising neutrophil elastase.
What are the risk factors fro non-alcoholic fatty liver?
Obesity
diabetes
hyperlipidaemia
What are the investigations for NAFL?
- LFTs = mildly elavted
- biopsy = to distinguish from NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis)
What is the management for NAFL?
Still no effective drug treatments
- weight loss works
What are the presentations for hepatic vein occlusion?
- abnormal LFTs
- ascites
- acute liver failure
What are the causes of hepatic vein occlusion?
- thrombosis
- membrane obstruction
- veno-occlusive disease
congestion causes acute or chronic liver injury
What is the treatment for hepatic vein occlusion?
- anticoagulation
- transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt
-liver transplantation
What bacteria are found in the GI tract?
Gastro intestinal flora with a predominance of anaerobes
e.g. Clostridium difficile
What are the defence mechanisms of the GI tract?
Intestinal Microflora:
- Prevent infection by interfering and competing with pathogens
- Produce its own antibacterial substances
- Gastric acid kills most organisms that are swallowed
- Bile has antibacterial properties
Define diarrhoea.
the passage of loose or watery stools, typically at least 3 times in 24hr period
What is the management of pseudomembranous colitis?
- faecal transplant = aims to restore the ‘normal flora’
What are the types of diarrhoea?
Acute = 14 days or fewer, viral, infective
Persistent diarrhoea = more than 14 but fewer than 30 days
Chronic = more than 30 days
What are the causes of infective diarrhoea?
Infective :
- intraluminal infection
- systemic infections e.g. sepsis, tropical infections, covid
What are the causes of non-infective diarrhoea?
- Cancer
- chemical (poisoning, sweeteners, medications)
- inflammatory bowel disease
- IBS/malabsorption
- endocrine (thyrotoxicosis)
- radiation
What are the characteristics of watery diarrhoea?
Non-inflammatory
Location = proximal small bowel
bacteria = S. aureus, C.difficile. E.coli
Viral = rotavirus, norovirus
Parasitic = Giardia, cryptosporidium
What are the characteristics of blood diarrhoea?
Inflammatory (invasion)
Location: colon
Bacteria: shigella, campylobacter, salmonella
Parasitic: Entamoeba histolytica
What is travellers diarrhoea?
occurs within 10 days of arrival from foreign country
What are the characteristics of cholera?
Vibrio cholerae
- from contaminated food/water
- produce cholera toxin
- profuse watery ‘rice water’ diarrhoea
What investigations should be done for diarrhoea?
Stool tests:
Microscopy
Culture
Multi-pathogen molecular panels (GE PCR panel)
Ova, cysts and parasites x3
Toxin detection (C difficile)
Blood tests
Blood culture
Inflammatory markers
Electrolytes and creatinine
What are the characteristics + treatment of peptic ulcer disease?
Helicobacter pylori
- organisms produce ammonia that damages the gastric mucosa
- stool antigen test
- treatment = omeprazole, clarithromycin and amoxicillin
What is acute cholecystitis?
- gallbladder inflammation, cystic duct obstruction by gall stones
What are the symptoms for acute cholecystitis?
- RUQ or epigastric pain
- fever
- leucocytosis
How do you diagnose acute cholecystitis?
Ultrasound
What is the treatment for acute cholecystitis?
IV fluids
analgesia
antibiotics
Surgery = cholecystectomy
What is ascending cholangitis?
Obstruction of the cystic bile duct