Acute liver failure history and symptoms

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Acute liver failure Microchapters

Home

Patient Information

Overview

Historical Perspective

Classification

Pathophysiology

Causes

Differentiating Acute Liver Failure from other Diseases

Epidemiology and Demographics

Risk Factors

Screening

Natural History, Complications and Prognosis

Diagnosis

Diagnostic Study of Choice

History and Symptoms

Physical Examination

Laboratory Findings

X Ray

CT

Ultrasound

Other Imaging Findings

Other Diagnostic Studies

Treatment

Medical Therapy

Surgery

Primary Prevention

Secondary Prevention

Cost-Effectiveness of Therapy

Future or Investigational Therapies

Case Studies

Case #1

Acute liver failure history and symptoms On the Web

Most recent articles

Most cited articles

Review articles

CME Programs

Powerpoint slides

Images

American Roentgen Ray Society Images of Acute liver failure history and symptoms

All Images
X-rays
Echo & Ultrasound
CT Images
MRI

Ongoing Trials at Clinical Trials.gov

US National Guidelines Clearinghouse

NICE Guidance

FDA on Acute liver failure history and symptoms

CDC on Acute liver failure history and symptoms

Acute liver failure history and symptoms in the news

Blogs on Acute liver failure history and symptoms

Directions to Hospitals Treating Acute liver failure

Risk calculators and risk factors for Acute liver failure history and symptoms

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief:

Please help WikiDoc by adding content here. It's easy! Click here to learn about editing.

Overview

A thorough history should be obtained, with special attention given to a history of ingesting medications or other toxins. Symptoms can include symptoms such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, abdominal distention, diarrhea, disorientation, and an increased bleeding tendency.

History and Symptoms

History

Obtaining the focused history is an important aspect of making a diagnosis of an acute liver failure. It provides insight into the cause, precipitating factors and associated comorbid conditions. The complete history will help determine the correct therapy and helps in determining the prognosis. Encephalopathy patients are disoriented therefore the patient interview may be difficult. In such cases, history from the family members may need to be obtained. The specific history of the symptoms (duration, onset, progression), associated symptoms, drug usage has to be obtained. Specific areas of focus when obtaining the history are:

  • Timing of onset of jaundice and other symptoms (malaise, nausea, vomiting or mental status changes)
  • History of alcohol use
  • Medications intake (prescription, illicit, herbal or recreational) use (prescription and illicit or recreational)
  • Family history of liver disease (Wilson disease)
  • Viral hepatitis risks (sexual contact, transfusions, travel, occupational, body piercing)
  • Hepatic toxins exposure (organic solvents, mushroom poisoning)
  • History of renal failure, seizures, bleeding, infection
  • Past history of jaundice
  • Risk factors of drug overdose (acetaminophen) such as prior history of suicide attempt, depression etc
  • Risk factors for hepatic ischemia such has hypotension, heart failure, hypercoagulable state

Symptoms

Many of the initial symptoms in patients with acute liver failure are nonspecific [14]. They include:

●Fatigue/malaise ●Lethargy ●Anorexia ●Nausea and/or vomiting ●Right upper quadrant pain ●Pruritus ●Jaundice ●Abdominal distension from ascites As the liver failure progresses, patients who were initially anicteric may develop jaundice, and those with subtle mental status changes (eg, lethargy, difficulty sleeping) may become confused or eventually comatose.

References

Template:WH Template:WS