pathology of the liver and cirrhosis Flashcards
weight of normal liver
1500g
what is the driving limit
80mg/dl
naive drinker, very drunk 200mg/dl to 300mg/dl for risk of dying (>350mg/dl if chronic)
some tolerate up to 600mg/dl before dying of alcohol toxicity
what is chronic alcoholic liver disease
fatty change (steatosis)
hepatitis)
cirrhosis
what enzyme is raised in chronic alcohol misuse
gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT)
ALT (alanine transaminase)
AST (aspartate aminotransferase)
both raised upon liver damage, ALT more specific
what does an LFT test for
bilirubin total protein albumin ALT AST ALP (alkaline phosphatase) GGT Prothrombin time (PT)
what do haematological tests find in chronic alcohol misuse
Fe deficiency anaemia (dec Hb and MCV)
Folate and B12 deficiency (inc MCV)
Raised INR - clotting abnormalities
Tendency to bleed
what is the pathogenesis of alcoholic steatosis
inc precursors of fat synthesis
reduced breakdown of fat
reduced hepatic excretion of fat
fatty change of liver is reversible on abstention
what are other causes of steatosis
known as non alcoholic fatty liver disease (complicated by inflammation/hepatitis to become non alcoholic steatohepatitis) T2 DM Obesity High BP/cholesterol metabolic syndrome 50+ smoke
what is alcoholic heaptitis
acute hepatitis (ass with jaundice, unwell, polymorphs or neutrophils in liver) chronic hepatitis (doesn't abstain so progression of fibrosis to cirrhosis, lymphocytes infiltrate liver)
what is done when alcoholic hepatitis is suspected
liver biopsy
fibrosis (loss of colour, fatty change, lymphocytes)
what are the complications of a liver biopsy
bleeding
pain
infection
accidental injury to nearby organ
what irreversible cirrhosis
irreversible stage of liver disease
fibrosis/scarring and modularity
repeated inflammation and healing process to regenerate hepatocytes into nodules separated by scars
classified by nodule size (macro-nodular >3mm, micro-nodular <3mm)
how does normal liver compare to fatty liver and cirrhosis
normal - pink
fatty liver - large droplets of fat visible
cirrhosis - fibrosis (dark) surrounding (lighter) nodules
what are other causes of cirrhosis
alcohol (60-70%) viral hepatitis (B, C, D, E etc) primary biliary cirrhosis primary haemochromatosis wilsons disease alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency cryptogenic
complications of cirrhosis
portal hypertension
liver failure (jaundice, hypoproteinanaemia, bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy)
ascites
hepatocellular carcinoma