Liver fibrosis is a slow, insidious process involving accumulation of extracellular matrix protein in the liver. The stage of liver fibrosis in chronic liver disease (CLD) determines overall morbidity and mortality; the higher the stage, the worse the prognosis. Noninvasive composite scores can be used to determine whether patients with CLD have significant or advanced fibrosis. Patients with low composite scores can be safely followed up in primary care with periodic reassessment. Those with higher scores should be referred to a specialist. As the epidemic of diabetes mellitus, obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases is rising, CLD is becoming more prevalent. Easy-to-use fibrosis assessment composite scores can identify patients with minimal or advanced fibrosis, and should be an integral part of decision-making. Patients with cirrhosis, high composite scores, chronic hepatitis B with elevated alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase, or deranged liver panel of uncertain aetiology should be referred to a specialist.
Alanine Transaminase ; blood ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; blood ; Decision Making ; End Stage Liver Disease ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Hepatitis B ; complications ; Humans ; Liver ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Prognosis ; Referral and Consultation ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVETo investigate the value of controlled attenuation parameter (CAP) in the diagnosis of fatty liver using FibroScan in patients with chronic liver disease (CLD).

METHODSA prospective cohort study was performed for the patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), chronic hepatitis C (CHC), and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) who underwent liver pathological examination followed by CAP measurement within 1 week in The Second People's Hospital of Tianjin from February 2013 to May 2014. According to related guidelines, hepatocyte steatosis was classified as S0: <5%, S1: 5%-33%, S2: 34%-66%, or S3: ≥67%. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were plotted with positive results as the diagnostic criteria, and the optimal cut-off values were determined at the maximum Youden index. Single linear regression and multiple stepwise regression were applied to analyze the influencing factors for CAP.

RESULTSA total of 427 patients were enrolled, consisting of 19 patients (4.4%) with NAFLD, 383 (89.7%) with CHB, and 25 (5.9%) with CHC. The optimal cut-off values for CAP in the diagnosis of steatosis ≥5%, ≥34%, and ≥67% were 230 dB/m, 252 dB/m, and 283 dB/m, respectively, and the areas under the ROC curve were 0.803, 0.942, and 0.938, respectively (Z = 14.194, 28.385, and 16.486, respectively, all P < 0.01). CAP differentiated S0 from S1, S1 from S2, S0 from S2, S0 from S3, and S1 from S3 (Z = 10.109, 10.224, 47.81, 29.917, and 10.999, all P < 0.01), but was not able to differentiate S2 from S3 (Z = 0.656, P = 0.5116). The single linear regression and multiple stepwise regression analyses showed that only body mass index (BMI; B = 4.001, P < 0.01) and hepatic steatosis (B = 33.015, P = 0.000) were correlated with CAP. The coincidence rates between CAP and liver pathological diagnosis were 77.4%, 81.0%, and 96.2% for S0, S3, and ≥S2, respectively.

CONCLUSIONCAP has a good value in the diagnosis of fatty liver in CLD patients, and can well differentiate between all stages of fatty liver except S2 and S3. CAP is influenced by BMI, but is not found to be associated with liver fibrosis, inflammation, liver stiffness measurement, and etiology.

Area Under Curve ; Biopsy ; Body Mass Index ; Cell Differentiation ; Elasticity Imaging Techniques ; Hepatitis B, Chronic ; complications ; Hepatitis C, Chronic ; complications ; Humans ; Inflammation ; complications ; Linear Models ; Liver Cirrhosis ; complications ; Multivariate Analysis ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; complications ; diagnosis ; Prospective Studies ; ROC Curve

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasing rapidly with the obesity and diabetes mellitus epidemics. It is rapidly becoming the most common cause of liver disease worldwide. NAFLD can progress to serious complications such as cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma and death. Therefore, it is important to recognise this condition so that early intervention can be implemented. Lifestyle modifications and strict control of metabolic risk factors are the mainstay of treatment. As disease progression is slow in the majority of NAFLD patients, most can be managed well by primary care physicians. NAFLD patients with advanced liver fibrosis should be referred to specialist care for further assessment.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular ; pathology ; Diet ; Disease Progression ; Humans ; Life Style ; Liver ; pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis ; pathology ; Liver Neoplasms ; pathology ; Metabolic Syndrome ; complications ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Obesity ; complications ; Prevalence ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome

Patients with cirrhosis who are hospitalized for an acute decompensation (AD) and also have organ failure(s) are at high risk of short-term death. These patients have a syndrome called Acute-on-Chronic Liver Failure (ACLF). ACLF is now considered as a new syndrome that it is distinct from "mere" AD not only because of the presence of organ failure(s) and high short-term mortality but also because of younger age, higher prevalence of alcoholic etiology of cirrhosis, higher prevalence of some precipitants (such as bacterial infections, active alcoholism), and more intense systemic inflammatory response. ACLF is a new syndrome also because severe sepsis or severe alcoholic hepatitis do not account for 100% of the observed cases; in fact, almost 50% of the cases are of "unknown" origin. In other words, severe sepsis, severe alcoholic hepatitis and ACLF of "unknown origin" are subcategories of the syndrome.
Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure/complications/mortality/*pathology ; Age Factors ; Cytokines/metabolism ; Hepatitis, Alcoholic/complications ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/*complications/diagnosis ; Sepsis/complications ; Severity of Illness Index ; Survival Rate

Radiological imaging plays a crucial role in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) as the noninvasive diagnosis of HCC in high-risk patients by typical imaging findings alone is widely adopted in major practice guidelines for HCC. While imaging techniques have markedly improved in detecting small liver lesions, they often detect incidental benign liver lesions and non-hepatocellular malignancy that can be misdiagnosed as HCC. The most common mimicker of HCC in cirrhotic liver is nontumorous arterioportal shunts that are seen as focal hypervascular liver lesions on dynamic contrast-enhanced cross-sectional imaging. Rapidly enhancing hemangiomas can be easily misdiagnosed as HCC especially on MR imaging with liver-specific contrast agent. Focal inflammatory liver lesions mimic HCC by demonstrating arterial-phase hypervascularity and subsequent washout on dynamic contrast-enhanced imaging. It is important to recognize the suggestive imaging findings for intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (CC) as the management of CC is largely different from that of HCC. There are other benign mimickers of HCC such as angiomyolipomas and focal nodular hyperplasia-like nodules. Recognition of their typical imaging findings can reduce false-positive HCC diagnosis.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*diagnosis/radiography ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Hemangioma/complications/radiography/ultrasonography ; Hepatitis B/complications ; Humans ; Inflammation/radiography/ultrasonography ; Liver/radiography/ultrasonography ; Liver Cirrhosis/complications/radiography ; Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/radiography ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease/radiography/ultrasonography

Because of its safety and treatment effectiveness, the popularity of radiofrequency ablation (RFA) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has gradually increased. However, some serious complications of RFA such as hepatic infarction, bowel perforation, and tumor seeding have been reported. Recently, we experienced a case of diaphragmatic hernia after RFA for HCC. A 61-year-old man with alcoholic cirrhosis was diagnosed with a 1.0 cm sized HCC in segment (S) 5 and a 1.3 cm sized HCC in S 8 of the liver. He was treated by transarterial chemoembolization and RFA. After RFA, an abdominal CT revealed a diaphragmatic defect with herniating mesentery. Twenty-two months after the RFA, the chest CT showed the diaphragmatic defect with herniating colon and mesentery. Because he had no symptoms, and surgical repair for the diaphragmatic hernia would be a high risk operation for him, we decided to treat the patient conservatively. For its great rarity, we report this case with a review of the literature.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*diagnosis/*radiotherapy/therapy ; Catheter Ablation/*adverse effects ; Chemoembolization, Therapeutic ; Hernia, Diaphragmatic/*etiology/surgery ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/complications/*diagnosis ; Liver Neoplasms/*diagnosis/*radiotherapy/therapy ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

Many studies have suggested that occult HBV infection has a substantial clinical relevance to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Occult HBV infection is an important risk factor for the development of cirrhosis and HCC in patients without HBsAg. As a matter of fact, occult HBV infection is one of the most common causes of crytogenic HCC in endemic areas of HBV. However, there still are controversial issues about the association between occult HBV infection and HCC according to the underlying liver disease. In alcoholic cirrhosis, occult HBV infection may exert synergistic effect on the development of HCC. However, there is insufficient evidence to relate occult HBV infection to hepatocarcinogenesis in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. In cryptogenic HCC, occult HBV infection may play a direct role in the development of HCC. In order to elucidate the assocciation between occult HBV infection and HCC, underlying liver disease must be specified and larger number of cases must be included in future studies.
Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/*complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; DNA, Viral/analysis ; Hepatitis/complications ; Hepatitis B/*complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Hepatitis B virus/genetics ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/complications ; Liver Neoplasms/*complications/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Risk Factors

We report on a 55-year-old man with alcoholic liver cirrhosis who presented with status epilepticus. Laboratory analysis showed markedly elevated blood ammonia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed widespread cortical signal changes with restricted diffusion, involving both temporo-fronto-parietal cortex, while the perirolandic regions and occipital cortex were uniquely spared. A follow-up brain MRI demonstrated diffuse cortical atrophy with increased signals on T1-weighted images in both the basal ganglia and temporal lobe cortex, representing cortical laminar necrosis. We suggest that the brain lesions, in our case, represent a consequence of toxic effect of ammonia.
Ammonia/blood ; Atrophy/pathology ; Brain Diseases/blood/*diagnosis/*etiology ; Hepatic Encephalopathy/*complications ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/*complications ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Necrosis/pathology ; Status Epilepticus/pathology

Hepatic peribiliary cysts (HPCs) are characterized by cystic dilatations of the peribiliary glands located throughout the branches of the biliary systems. Specifically, they are mainly located along the hepatic hilum and major portal tracts. The natural history and prognosis of HPCs are uncertain. In fact, almost all HPCs have been discovered incidentally during radiological examination or autopsy, and they are considered to be clinically harmless. Recently, several cases of HPCs associated with obstructive jaundice or liver failure were reported in patients with pre-existing liver disease in several studies. However, until now there have been no reports of such a case in Korea. Herein, we report a case of HPCs that show a disease course with a poor prognosis. These HPCs developed in a 47-year-old man with progressive alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
Bile Duct Diseases/complications/*diagnosis/radiography ; Cholangiopancreatography, Magnetic Resonance ; Cysts/*complications/radiography ; Humans ; Jaundice, Obstructive/etiology ; Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic/complications/*diagnosis/radiography ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of this study was to describe the types and causes of liver disease in patients from a single community hospital in Korea between April 2005 and May 2010. METHODS: A cohort of patients who visited the liver clinic of the hospital during the aforementioned time period were consecutively enrolled (n=6,307). Consistent diagnostic criteria for each liver disease were set by a single, experienced hepatologist, and the diagnosis of all of the enrolled patients was confirmed by retrospective review of their medical records. RESULTS: Among the 6,307 patients, 528 (8.4%) were classified as acute hepatitis, 3,957 (62.7%) as chronic hepatitis, 767 (12.2%) as liver cirrhosis, 509 (8.1%) as primary liver cancer, and 546 (8.7%) as a benign liver mass or other diseases. The etiologies in the acute hepatitis group in decreasing order of prevalence were hepatitis A (44.3%), toxic hepatitis (32.4%), other hepatitis viruses (13.8%), and cryptogenic hepatitis (9.1%). In the chronic hepatitis group, 51.2% of cases were attributed to viral hepatitis, 33.3% to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and 13.0% to alcoholic liver disease (ALD). Of the cirrhoses, 73.4% were attributable to viral causes and 18.1% to alcohol. Of the hepatocellular carcinoma cases, 86.6% were attributed to viral hepatitis and 11.6% to ALD. Among the benign tumors, hemangioma comprised 52.2% and cystic liver disease comprised 33.7%. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of the current status of the type and cause of liver disease in Korea may be valuable as a basis for evaluating changing trends in liver disease in that country.
Acute Disease ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alcohol Drinking/adverse effects ; Carcinoma, Hepatocellular/epidemiology/etiology/pathology ; Chronic Disease ; Cohort Studies ; Fatty Liver/epidemiology ; Female ; Hepatitis/epidemiology ; Hepatitis, Viral, Human/complications/epidemiology ; Humans ; Liver Cirrhosis/epidemiology/etiology ; Liver Diseases/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Liver Diseases, Alcoholic/complications/epidemiology ; Liver Neoplasms/epidemiology/etiology/pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Young Adult