Liver Failure – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment By Peterhutch
Liver failure means that your liver is losing or has lost all of its function. It is a life-threatening condition that demands urgent medical care.The first symptoms of liver failure are often nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, and diarrhea. Because these symptoms can have any number of causes, it may be hard to tell that the liver is failing.
How do drugs cause liver disease?
Drugs can cause liver disease in several ways. Some drugs are directly injurious to the liver; others are transformed by the liver into chemicals that can be injurious to the liver directly or indirectly. (This may seem strange in light of the liver's important role in transforming toxic chemicals into nontoxic chemicals, but it happens.) There are three types of liver toxicity; dose-dependent toxicity, idiosyncratic toxicity, and drug allergy.
Incidence of acute fatty liver of pregnancy, frequently culminating in FHF, has been estimated to be 0.008% (typically in the third trimester; preeclampsia develops in approximately 50% of these patients). However, the most common cause of acute jaundice in pregnancy is acute viral hepatitis, and most of these patients do not develop FHF. The one major exception to this is the pregnant patient who develops HEV and in whom an exposure history is usually remarkable for travel and/or residence in the Middle East, India and the subcontinent, Mexico, or other endemic areas.
Symptoms of Liver Failure?
The early symptoms of liver failure are similar to symptoms of many other conditions. Because of this, liver failure may initially difficult to diagnose. Some of the most common initial symptoms of liver failure are:
Nausea
Loss of appetite
Fatigue
Liver Failure Diagnosis
If your doctor suspects you have liver damage you may be sent to see a liver specialist (hepatologist) or a digestive disease specialist (gastroenterologist) for further tests. These tests may include:
performing a liver biopsy, in which a tiny piece of the liver is taken to be looked at under a microscope. A fine hollow needle is passed through the skin into the liver and a small sample is withdrawn. The test is usually done under local anaesthetic and may mean an overnight stay in hospital, although most people are allowed home later the same day if they live close by.
How Is Liver Failure Treated?
If detected early enough, acute liver failure caused by an overdose of acetaminophen can sometimes be treated and its effects reversed. Likewise, if a virus causes liver failure, supportive care can be given at a hospital to treat the symptoms until the virus runs its course. In these cases the liver will sometimes recover on its own.
The most important measure in the treatment of alcoholic liver disease is to ensure the total and immediate abstinence from alcohol. This will sometimes require admission to an in-patient medical ward for prophylactic treatment of withdrawal symptoms such as delirium tremens and seizures. Treatment of other associated neurological conditions may also be required. Chronic alcohol abusers often need treatment with vitamins, especially thiamin, to correct the deficiencies that may have resulted from chronic alcohol abuse.
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