Week 3 Flashcards
how is bilirubin produced?
- by product of haeme metabolism.
- generated by senescent RBC’s in spleen.
what is unconjugated bilirubin initially bound to?
albumin
why does the liver conjugate bilirubin?
helps to solubilise it
what is a pre-hepatic, hepatic and post-hepatic cause of elevated bilirubin levels?
pre: haemolysis
hepatic: parenchymal damage
post: obstructive
what can a high AST/ALT ratio point towards?
alcoholic liver disease
what could elevated levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) indicate?
elevated with obstruction or liver infiltration
What could elevated levels of Gamma GT indicate?
alcohol use
NSAID use
what is an albumin level test important for? and what could low levels suggest?
- important for synthetic function of liver.
- chronic liver disease.
- kidney disorders and malnutrition.
describe the importance of prothrombin time test?
what does it test?
- extremely important test for liver function.
- tells degree of liver dysfunction.
- used to calculate scores to decide stage of liver disease, who needs a liver transplant and who gets a liver transplant.
- tests how long for a clot to form in a blood sample.
what do creatinine tests help to determine?
- essentially kidney function.
- determines survival from liver disease.
- critical assessment for need for transplant.
why do we do a platelet count test?
- liver is an important source of thrombopoietin.
- cirrhosis results in splenomegaly.
- platelets low in cirrhotic subjects as a result of hypersplenism.
- indirect marker of portal hypertension.
when is jaundice detectable?
when total plasma bilirubin levels exceed 34 micromol/L
what are history clues for pre-hepatic jaundice?
- history of anaemia (fatigue, dyspnoea, chest pain).
- acholuric jaundice. (no yellowing of urine)
what are history and visual clues for hepatic jaundice?
- risk factors for liver disease (IVDU, drug intake).
- decompensation (ascites, variceal bleed, encephalopathy).
what are history clues for post-hepatic jaundice?
- abdominal pain.
- cholestasis (pruritus (itchiness), pale stools, high coloured urine).
what are clinical examination clues for pre-hepatic jaundice?
- pallor.
- splenomegaly.
what are examination clues for hepatic-jaundice that can be seen from inspection?
- stigmata of CLD (spider naevi, gynaecomastia).
- ascites.
- flapping tremor.
what is an examination clues for post-hepatic jaundice?
palpable gall bladder (Courvoisier’s sign).
Del
Del
what is the most important imaging test used in investigation of jaundice?
Ultrasound
what does ERCP do?
radiological imagine of biliary tree performed endoscopically to get to ampulla of vater and x -rays to see biliary tree.
when is ERCP used?
can spot obstructions:
- dilated biliary tree (+/- stones or tumour).
- acute gallstone pancreatitis.
- post op biliary complications.
can be used surgically:
- can also perform stenting of biliary tract obstruction whilst using ERCP.
- stone retrival > basket
- sphincterotomy
when is endoscopic ultrasound used for the biliary tree?
- characterising pancreatic masses.
- staging of tumours.
- fine needle aspirate (FNA) of tumours and cysts.
- excluding biliary microcalculi
what is the importance of a liver biopsy?
- important for definitive diagnosis or certain conditions e.g. autoimmune hepatitis.
- important to confirm diagnosis e.g. primary biliary cholangitis, drug-induced liver injury.
- important for staging of severity e.g. alcoholic hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
when is liver disease considered chronic?
if it persists beyond 6 months.
what is the clinical presentation of compensated chronic liver disease?
asymptomatic stage. Compensated patients do not have ascites, variceal hemorrhage, hepatic encephalopathy, or jaundice.
- routinely detected on screening tests.
- abnormality of liver function tests.
what is the clinical presentation of decompensated chronic liver disease?
- ascites
- hepatorenal syndrome
- variceal bleeding
- hepatic encephalopathy
- hepatocellular carcinoma potentially.
what is ascites?
the abnormal accumulation of fluid within the peritoneal cavity.
- typically associated with liver disease > cirrhosis.
investigations for ascites
- ascitic tap (paracentesis) > content of ascitic fluid.
initial evaluation:
- protein & albumin concentration.
- cell count and differential.
- SAAG.
describe the serum ascites albumin gradient (SAAG) calculation
- can help to determine cause of ascites.
- IT IS CALCULATED BY SUBTRACTING THE ALBUMIN CONCENTRATION OF THE ASCITIC FLUID FROM THE SERUM ALBUMIN CONCENTRATION.
what does a high SAAG (>1.1g/dl) suggest?
- portal hypertension.
- CHF (congestive heart failure)
- constrictive pericarditis.
- Budd Chiarri.
- Myxedema.
- Massive liver metastases.
what does a low SAAG (<1.1 g/dl) suggest?
- indicates non-portal hypertension and suggests a peritoneal cause of ascites.
treatment for ascites?
diuretics
large volume paracentesis
TIPS
aquaretics
liver transplantation
describe hepatorenal syndrome
Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a multiorgan condition of acute kidney injury seen in those with advanced liver disease. Patients with this condition present with signs and symptoms of liver failure as well as decreased urination as they become oliguric
what is hepatic encephalopathy?
confusion due to liver disease
what is the most common cause of liver cancer?
hepatocellular carcinoma
presentation of hepatocellular carcinoma?
- decompensation of liver disease.
- abdominal mass.
- abdominal pain.
- weight loss.
- bleeding from tumour
what is uses in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma?
tumour markers: AFP. (alpha fetoprotein)
radiological tests:
- US.
- CT scan.
- MRI.
- liver biopsy perfomed very rarely.
list the treatment options for hepatocellular carcinoma
- Hepatic resection
- Liver transplantation
- Chemotherapy
- Locally ablative treatments
>Alcohol injection
>Radiofrequency ablation - Sorafenib (Tyrosinase kinase inhibitor)
- Hormonal therapy: Tamoxifen
which types of hepatitis are enteric viruses?
A and E
which types of hepatitis are parenteral viruses?
B, C and D
which types of hepatitis cause self limiting, acute infections?
A & E
which types of hepatitis cause chronic disease?
B, C & D
how many people die each yer from causes of viral hepatitis?
approx 1 million
what groups of pple should be immunised for hepatitis A virus?
- travellers
- patient with chronic liver disease
- IVDU (especially with HCV or HBV)
- haemophiliacs
- occupational exposure (lab workers)
- men who have sex with men.
what does the presence of IgM anti-HBc antibodies indicate?
acute hepatitis B infection
what does the presence of IgG anti-HBc antibodies indicate?
chronic infection/exposure
what does the presence of anti-HBe antibodies indicate?
inactive virus
what does the presence of HBsAg in the blood indicate?
presence of hepatitis B virus
what is the natural history of chronic hepatitis B?
- no further progression, not all patients have progressive disease.
OR
- cirrhosis which can cause hepatocellular carcinoma and end-stage liver disease.
what are the treatment options for hepatitis B virus?
- pegylated interferon alfa-2a is the first line therapy.
- oral antiviral drugs such as entecavir and tenofovir.
what is the most common cause of acute hepatitis in Grampian?
hepatitis E
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is an umbrella term encompassing which three entities?
- simple steatosis (fat build up in liver cells)
- non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
- fibrosis and cirrhosis.
what are risk factors for NAFLD?
modifiable and non-modifiable
- diabetes mellitus.
- obesity.
- hypertiglyceridemia.
- hypertension.
- age
- ethnicity (e.g. hispanics)
- genetic factors e.g., PNPLA3 gene
what is the treatment for NAFLD?
- lifestyle changes (diet, exercise).
- insulin sensitizers e.g. metformin.
- glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogues e.g. liraglutide.
- obeticholic acid
- vitamin E
- weight reduction surgery
what are three autoimmune liver diseases?
autoimmune hepatitis
primary biliary cholangitis
primary sclerosing cholangitis
what is a long-term drug is used in the treatment of autoimmune hepatitis?
azathioprine
what antibody is elevated in autoimmune hepatitis?
IgG
What antibodies are elevated in primary biliary cholangitis?
IgM
anti-mitochondrial antibodies