Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common metabolic liver disorders, and its incidence is expected to increase rapidly in the future as the rate of obesity increases and populations age. The gold standard for diagnosing NAFLD is liver biopsy, which involves sample error, high cost, and can be complicated due to its invasive nature. Therefore, many studies have been reported to establish accurate and convenient models to detect NAFLD using clinical and laboratory parameters. Most were derived from relatively small number of subjects and lack external validation, especially in the Korean population. This article summarizes the established and emerging risk factors for NAFLD and reviews non-invasive diagnostic algorithms for NAFLD including hepatic fibrosis.
Biopsy ; Diagnosis* ; Fibrosis ; Incidence ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease* ; Obesity ; Risk Factors

Liver cirrhosis is commonly associated with bleeding complications due to portal hypertension or coagulopathy. Spontaneous muscle hematoma is a rare but potentially lethal complication of liver cirrhosis. Here we report three cases of spontaneous muscle hematoma diagnosed in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis. All three patients died due to recurrent bleeding and liver failure although they had undergone repeated transcatheter arterial embolization of the actively bleeding vessels. We reviewed 14 cases of spontaneous muscle hematoma that were associated with liver cirrhosis, including our cases, and found that the mortality rate was 86%, despite early diagnosis and treatment. Cirrhosis-associated spontaneous muscle hematoma occurred more frequently in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, who accounted for -93% of cases. Thus, spontaneous muscle hematoma should be considered a life-threatening complication in patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis, and abstinence from alcohol may help to prevent the occurrence of this deadly condition.
Alcoholics* ; Early Diagnosis ; Fibrosis ; Hematoma* ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hypertension, Portal ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic* ; Liver Failure ; Mortality

The study of the epidemiology of toxic liver injury has been limited in Korea. The number of hospitalizations for toxic liver injury has been estimated to be 2,400 persons per year. About 30~40% of fulminant hepatitis was attributed to toxic hepatitis. The frequent causative agents of toxic hepatitis in Korea are herbal medicines (34~40%), folk remedies (23~34%), and prescribed medicines (24~55%). However, the most common agents causing severe liver injury including fulminant hepatitis are herbal medicine and folk remedies. Antituberculosis drugs and acetaminophen are two common causes of fulminant hepatitis among prescribed drugs. Alcohol is one of the leading causes of chronic liver disease in Korea. No nationwide study on the epidemiology of alcoholic liver disease (ALD) has been carried out, but 7~31% of cirrhosis has been reported to be alcoholic in a few single-center studies. Alcohol could be a risk factor for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in chronic viral hepatitis. Several studies have shown that alcohol increased the risk of HCC in liver cirrhosis with HBsAg or anti-HCV. Furthermore, alcoholic cirrhosis with occult hepatitis B virus infection increased the risk of HCC.
Drug-Induced Liver Injury/diagnosis/*epidemiology/etiology ; Humans ; Korea/epidemiology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/complications/epidemiology ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/complications/*epidemiology ; Liver Neoplasms/etiology ; Risk Factors

Phlegmonous gastritis is a rare disorder caused by suppurative bacterial infection of the gastric wall. The mortality rate remains extremely high and the gastrectomy has been thought to be an effective form of treatment. We report a case of acute phlegmonous gastritis developed in a patient with advanced alcoholic liver cirrhosis, and recovered with early endoscopic diagnosis and antibiotics alone.
Anti-Bacterial Agents* ; Bacterial Infections ; Cellulitis* ; Diagnosis ; Gastrectomy ; Gastritis* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Mortality

BACKGROUND: Alcoholic liver disease has increased. The causes of death in liver cirrhosis have changed. The author tried to categorize the etiology and complications of liver cirrhosis and analyze the causes of death in the 1990s. METHOD: The author retrospectively reviewed medical records of 1,175 patients diagnosed as having liver cirrhosis at Kyung Hee University Hospital from January 1991 through December 1998. The etiology, complications and the cause of death were compared between the early (1991-1994) and the late (1995-1998) periods. RESULTS: The proportion of male patients (73.3%) was still about 3 times that of female patients. There was no difference in age at the time of diagnosis between early and late periods (51.4 11.1 and 51.2 11.2 years respectively). Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was still the most common cause of liver cirrhosis (57.0%) and alcohol was the next (31.1%). The complications of liver cirrhosis at the time of diagnosis were, in order: esophageal varices, ascites, and variceal bleeding. But there was no significant difference between the periods. The proportion of Child grade B was the most common at the time of diagnosis in both periods, but Child grade A increased in the late period. The most common cause of death was liver failure and the next cause was variceal bleeding in the early period. Hepatorenal syndrome was the second most common cause in the late period. CONCLUSION: There was no change in the etiology between early and late periods. HBV infection was still the most common etiology but the incidence of alcoholic liver cirrhosis might have increased in the 1990s. The proportion of the Child B at initial diagnosis was the highest (around 50%) but that of Child A increased in the late period. Among the causes of death, liver failure and hepatorenal syndrome had a tendency to increase in the late period.
Ascites ; Cause of Death* ; Child ; Diagnosis ; Epidemiology ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices ; Female ; Hepatitis B virus ; Hepatorenal Syndrome ; Humans ; Incidence ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic ; Liver Failure ; Liver* ; Male ; Medical Records ; Retrospective Studies

Fusarium species, which are common soil saprophytes, have been implicated as a pathogen causing a variety of opportunistic infections such as keratitis, onychomycosis, burn wound infection or disseminated systemic infections in immunocompromised hosts. We report a case of cutaneous infection caused by F. verticillioides in a 59-year-old man, with a long history of diabetes mellitus and alcoholic liver cirrhosis. He presented with a few papules and fluctuant cutaneous nodules on both forearms traumatized by woodstick 4 months ago. The diagnosis of F. verticillioides infection was established by histopathologic examination and finding of tissue cultures.
Burns ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Diagnosis ; Forearm ; Fusarium* ; Humans ; Immunocompromised Host ; Keratitis ; Liver Cirrhosis* ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Liver* ; Middle Aged ; Onychomycosis ; Opportunistic Infections ; Soil ; Wound Infection

Although Dieulafoy lesion can occur in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, its occurrence in the rectum is rare. Rectal Dieulafoy lesions have been associated with advanced age, renal failure, burns, liver transplantation and cirrhosis. Here, we report on a case of massive bleeding from a rectal Dieulafoy lesion after lung decortication surgery in a 57-year-old male patient with alcoholic cirrhosis. Although rare, a rectal Dieulafoy lesion should be included in the differential diagnosis of massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient with cirrhosis.
Alcoholics* ; Burns ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fibrosis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic* ; Liver Transplantation ; Lung ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rectum ; Renal Insufficiency

Although Dieulafoy lesion can occur in any part of the gastrointestinal tract, its occurrence in the rectum is rare. Rectal Dieulafoy lesions have been associated with advanced age, renal failure, burns, liver transplantation and cirrhosis. Here, we report on a case of massive bleeding from a rectal Dieulafoy lesion after lung decortication surgery in a 57-year-old male patient with alcoholic cirrhosis. Although rare, a rectal Dieulafoy lesion should be included in the differential diagnosis of massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient with cirrhosis.
Alcoholics ; Burns ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Fibrosis ; Gastrointestinal Tract ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic ; Liver Transplantation ; Lung ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rectum ; Renal Insufficiency

Benign hypervascular hyperplastic nodules (HHN) in liver cirrhosis are very rare. It is important to distinguish between regenerative nodules (hyperplastic nodules) and tumorous nodules (dysplastic or neoplastic nodules) in hepatocellular nodular lesions. The differential diagnosis between HHN and hepatocellular carcinoma on the basis of radiologic imaging is often difficult, and is clinically important when determining the therapeutic plan. Therefore, histological confirmation by needle biopsy sampling of the liver is necessary for a correct diagnosis of HHN. We report herein a case of benign HHN mimicking hepatocellular carcinoma in a 32-year-old male alcoholic liver cirrhosis patient without viral hepatitis infection.
Adult ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/diagnosis ; Humans ; Hyperplasia/diagnosis ; Liver/*pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/*diagnosis/pathology/radiography ; Liver Neoplasms/diagnosis ; Magnetic Resonance Angiography ; Male ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Recent advances in the noninvasive imaging of chronic liver disease have led to improvements in diagnosis, particularly with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). A comprehensive evaluation of the liver may be performed with the quantification of the degree of hepatic steatosis, liver iron concentration, and liver fibrosis. In addition, MRI of the liver may be used to identify complications of cirrhosis, including portal hypertension, ascites, and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma. In this review article, we discuss the state of the art techniques in liver MRI, namely, magnetic resonance elastography, hepatobiliary phase MRI, and liver fat and iron quantification MRI. The use of these advanced techniques in the management of chronic liver diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, will be elaborated.
Ascites ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; Diagnosis ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques* ; Fatty Liver ; Fibrosis ; Hypertension, Portal ; Iron ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Liver Diseases* ; Liver* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging* ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease