Embolization, Therapeutic ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/therapy* ; Humans ; Telangiectasia, Hereditary Hemorrhagic/therapy*

Current guideline developed by the Chinese Society of Hepatology on the management of hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhosis is grounded on the published evidences and panelists' consensus. This guideline presents recommendations for diagnosis and management of covert and overt hepatic encephalopathy, and underline the importance of screening minimal hepatic encephalopathy in patients with end-stage liver diseases. In addition, it also stresses that early identification and timely treatments are the means to know the prognosis. The principles of treatment are primary and secondary prevention, prompt removal of the cause, and recovery of acute neuropsychiatric abnormalities to baseline status.
Consensus ; Disease Management ; Gastroenterology ; Gastrointestinal Agents/therapeutic use* ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/drug therapy* ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Practice Guidelines as Topic ; Prognosis

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the safety and clinical outcomes of chemoembolization in Child-Pugh class C patients with hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study comprised 55 patients with HCC who were classified as Child-Pugh class C and who underwent initial chemoembolization between January 2003 and December 2012. Selective chemoembolization was performed in all technically feasible cases to minimize procedure-related complications. All adverse events within 30 days were recorded using the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE). The tumor response to chemoembolization was evaluated using the modified Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors. RESULTS: Thirty (54.5%) patients were within the Milan criteria, and 25 (45.5%) were beyond. The mortality of study subjects at 30 days was 5.5%. Major complications were observed in five (9.1%) patients who were all beyond the Milan criteria: two hepatic failures, one hepatic encephalopathy, and two CTCAE grade 3 increases in aspartate aminotransferase/alanine aminotransferase abnormality. The mean length of hospitalization was 6.3 ± 8.3 days (standard deviation), and 18 (32.7%) patients were discharged on the next day after chemoembolization. The tumor responses of the patients who met the Milan criteria were significantly higher (p = 0.014) than those of the patients who did not. The overall median survival was 7.1 months (95% confidence interval: 4.4-9.8 months). CONCLUSION: Even in patients with Child-Pugh class C, chemoembolization can be performed safely with a selective technique in selected cases with a small tumor burden.
Adult ; Aged ; Alanine Transaminase/metabolism ; Aspartate Aminotransferases/metabolism ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/mortality/*pathology/therapy ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic/adverse effects ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/etiology ; Humans ; Length of Stay ; Liver Neoplasms/mortality/*pathology/therapy ; Liver Transplantation ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Proportional Hazards Models ; Severity of Illness Index ; Survival Rate ; Treatment Outcome ; Tumor Burden

BACKGROUND: High model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) scores (> or =35) is closely associated with poor posttransplantation outcomes in patients who undergo living donor liver transplantation (LDLT). There is little information regarding factors that negatively impact the survival of patients with high MELD scores. The aim of this study was to identify factors associated with 3-month mortality of patients after LDLT. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed 774 patients who underwent adult LDLT with right lobe grafts between 1996 and 2012. Exclusion criteria were re-transplantation, left graft, auxiliary partial orthotopic liver transplantation, and inadequate medical recording. Preoperative variables were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The overall 3-month survival rate was 92%. In univariate analysis, acute progression of disease, severity of hepatic encephalopathy, Child-Pugh class C, hepatorenal syndrome, use of continuous renal replacement therapy, use of ventilator, intensive care unit (ICU) care before transplantation, and MELD scores > or =35 were identified as potential risk factors. However, only ICU care before transplantation and MELD scores > or =35 were independent risk factors for 3-month mortality after LDLT. Three-month and 1-year patient survival rates for those with no risk factors were 95.5% and 88.6%, respectively. In contrast, patients with at least one risk factor had 3-month and 1-year patient survival rates of 88.4% and 81.1%, respectively, while patients with two risk factors had 3-month and 1-year patient survival rates of 55.6% and 55.6%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with both risk factors (ICU care before LDLT and MELD scores > or =35) should be cautiously considered for treatment with LDLT.
Adult ; End Stage Liver Disease ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; Hepatorenal Syndrome ; Humans ; Intensive Care Units ; Liver Diseases ; Liver Transplantation* ; Living Donors* ; Medical Records ; Mortality* ; Renal Replacement Therapy ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Survival Rate ; Transplants ; Ventilators, Mechanical

Acute variceal bleeding could be a fatal complication in patients with liver cirrhosis. In patients with decompensated liver cirrhosis accompanied by ascites or hepatic encephalopathy, acute variceal bleeding is associated with a high mortality rate. Therefore, timely endoscopic hemostasis and prevention of relapse of bleeding are most important. The treatment goals for acute variceal bleeding are to correct hypovolemia; achieve rapid hemostasis; and prevent early rebleeding, complications related to bleeding, and deterioration of liver function. If variceal bleeding is suspected, treatment with vasopressors and antibiotics should be initiated immediately on arrival to the hospital. Furthermore, to obtain hemodynamic stability, the hemoglobin level should be maintained at >8 g/dL, systolic blood pressure >90 to 100 mm Hg, heart rate <100/min, and the central venous pressure from 1 to 5 mm Hg. When the patient becomes hemodynamically stable, hemostasis should be achieved by performing endoscopy as soon as possible. For esophageal variceal bleeding, endoscopic variceal ligation is usually performed, and for gastric variceal bleeding, endoscopic variceal obturation is performed primarily. If it is considered difficult to achieve hemostasis through endoscopy, salvage therapy may be carried out while keeping the patient hemodynamically stable.
Anti-Bacterial Agents ; Ascites ; Blood Pressure ; Central Venous Pressure ; Endoscopy ; Esophageal and Gastric Varices* ; Heart Rate ; Hemodynamics ; Hemorrhage ; Hemostasis ; Hemostasis, Endoscopic ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; Humans ; Hypovolemia ; Ligation ; Liver ; Liver Cirrhosis ; Mortality ; Recurrence ; Salvage Therapy

OBJECTIVETo summarize the incidence of various adverse reactions in the clinical application of L-asparaginase (L-Asp), and to analyze the cause of hepatic encephalopathy in three cases.

METHODSThe complete data of 23 patients in our department from December 2009 to December 2010 were collected. Their blood ammonia levels, transaminase, serum albumin and blood coagulation function before, during and after the L-Asp application were assayed.

RESULTS(1) All patients had elevated blood ammonia level after the L- Asp application. This occurred 2 days after the beginning of treatment and the median time to reach peak level (ranged from 194 to 446 μmol/L, with a median value of 300 μmol/L) was 4 days. It returned to normal level after a median time of 5 days (ranged 3-7 days) with drug withdrawal. Of the 23 patients studied, 3 developed hepatic encephalopathy. (2) All patients appeared lower blood fibrinogen, 10 cases (43.5%) with lower fibrinogen only, while 13 cases (56.5%) with both prolonged APTT and lower fibrinogen. The lowest level of fibrinogen was detected at 1 week after drug application. Of the 23 patients, 14 (60.9%) had mild lower blood fibrinogen (1-2 g/L), and 9 (39.1%) had significantly lower fibrinogen (0-1 g/L). (3) Six cases (26.1%) had slightly elevated level of transaminase (<2 times the upper limits of normal), 8 (34.8%) appeared hypoalbuminemia.

CONCLUSIONAs the incidence of elevated blood ammonia levels was high in the application of L-Asp, the level of blood ammonia should be closely monitored to avoid the occurrence of hepatic encephalopathy, especially in elderly patients and patients with previous liver disease or long-term heavy drinking. L-Asp can also lead to low fibrinogen level, hypoalbuminemia and abnormal transaminase. Monitoring the blood coagulation function and liver function is required and, if necessary, plasma infusion and liver protection therapy are required.

Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Ammonia ; blood ; Asparaginase ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; chemically induced ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; blood ; drug therapy ; Young Adult

OBJECTIVETo investigate the potential effects on cognitive function, prognosis, and neuropeptide levels of patients in response to combination therapy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone for hepatic encephalopathy.

METHODSEighty-four consecutive patients diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy were randomly divided into two equal groups. The control group (n = 42) received traditional medical treatment, and the research group (n = 42) received the traditional medical treatment as well as the combination therapy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone. The supplemental treatment was comprised of daily intravenous injection of 10-15 g ornithine aspartate in 250 ml of 5% glucose plus intravenous drip of 3 mg naloxone in 100 ml of 5% glucose, and was given in 7-day cycles for one or two cycles. The cognitive function of patients was assessed by Hasegawa Intelligence Scale (HDS) and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) questionnaires. The effective rate and time duration from coma to consciousness were recorded. Changes in blood ammonia level, markers of liver function, and neuropeptide levels were measured by standard biochemical assays. Intergroup differences were assessed by the Chi-squared test.

RESULTSThe HDS and MMSE scores of the research group were significantly higher than those of the control group after therapy. The effective rate, time duration from coma to consciousness, blood ammonia, the liver function markers alanine aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase and total bilirubin, and the neuropeptides arginine vasopressin and beta-endorphin were remarkably improved after treatment in the research group, as compared with that in the control group.

CONCLUSIONSupplementing the traditional treatment for hepatic encephalopathy with ornithine aspartate plus naloxone combination therapy provides better therapeutic outcome than traditional treatment alone.

Adult ; Dipeptides ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; drug therapy ; metabolism ; psychology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Naloxone ; therapeutic use ; Neuropeptides ; metabolism ; Prognosis

An eight-month-old female infant with severe dengue disease, who was repeatedly given therapeutic paracetamol for severe dengue, developed fulminant liver failure with encephalopathy, gastrointestinal haemorrhage and severe coagulopathy. She responded to supportive measures and N-acetylcysteine infusion. This case highlights the potential danger of administering repeated therapeutic doses of paracetamol in childhood severe dengue disease with hepatitis.
Acetaminophen ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Antipyretics ; adverse effects ; therapeutic use ; Blood Coagulation ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy ; drug therapy ; Humans ; Infant ; Liver Failure, Acute ; chemically induced ; Severe Dengue ; drug therapy ; Treatment Outcome

A 67-year-old woman presented with memory impairment and behavioral changes. Brain MRI indicated hepatic encephalopathy. Abdominal CT scans revealed an intrahepatic portosystemic venous shunt that consisted of two shunt tracts to the aneurysmal sac that communicated directly with the right hepatic vein. The large tract was successfully occluded by embolization using the newly available AMPLATZERTM Vascular Plug II and the small tract was occluded by using coils. The patient's symptoms disappeared after shunt closure and she remained free of recurrence at the 3-month follow-up evaluation.
Aged ; Embolization, Therapeutic/*instrumentation/methods ; Female ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/etiology/*therapy ; Hepatic Veins/abnormalities/radiography ; Humans ; Liver Circulation ; Portal Vein/abnormalities/radiography ; *Septal Occluder Device

No abstract available.
Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use ; Ascites/diagnosis/prevention & control/therapy ; Cholagogues and Choleretics/therapeutic use ; Fatty Liver/diagnosis/diet therapy ; Fatty Liver, Alcoholic/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Hemorrhage/prevention & control/therapy ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/diagnosis/prevention & control/therapy ; Hepatitis B, Chronic/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Hepatitis C, Chronic/diagnosis/drug therapy ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*diagnosis/drug therapy/pathology/*therapy ; Liver Cirrhosis, Biliary/drug therapy ; Vasodilator Agents/therapeutic use