Early symptoms of cirrhosis

Written by Huang Ya Juan
Gastroenterology
Updated on September 05, 2024
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Liver cirrhosis is generally divided into compensated and decompensated stages: The compensated stage is actually an early stage of liver cirrhosis. During this stage, most patients do not show symptoms, or they may experience some mild symptoms such as abdominal discomfort, fatigue, loss of appetite, abdominal bloating, indigestion, diarrhea, etc. Decompensated stage: Early stages often present with fatigue and weakness, and later stages can include weight loss, loss of appetite, aversion to oily foods, abdominal bloating, diarrhea, fever, etc.; The liver is the only site of albumin synthesis, and during cirrhosis, reduced serum albumin can cause edema and ascites; the liver synthesizes most clotting factors, and cirrhosis can lead to coagulation disorders, clinically manifesting as gum bleeding, skin bruising, and nosebleeds; During cirrhosis, there can also be metabolic disorders of bilirubin and bile acids, leading to jaundice; Cirrhosis can also cause hormonal metabolic abnormalities, especially in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis, who may exhibit many characteristics of male dysfunction, including impotence, erectile dysfunction, testicular atrophy, loss of body hair and muscle mass, feminization, etc. Female patients may experience cessation or reduction of menstruation, excessive menstruation, infertility, etc.; Both male and female patients can develop osteoporosis, leading to spontaneous fractures.

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Written by Li Qiang
Intensive Care Unit
1min 9sec home-news-image

Is late-stage liver cirrhosis with liver failure easy to control?

In the late stages of cirrhosis, when the condition has progressed to liver failure, it becomes very difficult to manage. At this stage, due to liver failure, the first issue to arise is abnormal coagulation function, such as easy bleeding in patients. This will lead to severe hypoalbuminemia, causing swelling throughout the body. Additionally, bilirubin levels are very high, leading to various metabolic diseases, such as metabolic encephalopathy, which affects other organs as well. In the late stages of cirrhosis, there is also a large amount of ascites. At this time, portal hypertension is common, leading to complications such as gastric and esophageal varices rupture, bleeding, and hepatic encephalopathy, making the condition very difficult to control. If the cirrhosis is a benign lesion, at this time, adjusting liver function through methods such as artificial livers or plasma exchange can improve the condition to a manageable extent. It is critical to act quickly to perform a liver transplant, as there are no other effective treatments besides transplant, and the condition is very difficult to control.

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Written by Si Li Li
Gastroenterology
1min 8sec home-news-image

Can severe cirrhosis be cured?

Severe cirrhosis is understood to refer to the decompensated stage of cirrhosis, which is the later stage of the condition, primarily characterized by the hardening of the liver. Additionally, it presents a series of bodily complications such as ascites, as well as esophageal and gastric varices caused by portal hypertension. Sometimes, because of these varices, accidental rupture can occur during eating, leading to severe bleeding, which is a major upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage — a very dangerous complication. If this bleeding is not controlled, it can become life-threatening. Moreover, the skin may display spider nevi, and palmar erythema can appear on the hands; these are common manifestations and complications during the decompensated phase of cirrhosis. Thus, cirrhosis is not curable. Treatment focuses on symptomatic relief to minimize discomfort caused by the symptoms, but the disease itself cannot be cured.

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Written by Li Qiang
Intensive Care Unit
1min 5sec home-news-image

Which is more serious, liver failure or cirrhosis?

Liver failure refers to a functional impairment of the liver, which could be acute or chronic damage. For instance, it could be the end stage of chronic liver disease, or an acute condition such as hepatitis, or another acute liver lesion. Other common lesions may also cause a sudden abnormality in liver function, resulting in severe liver dysfunction. At this point, liver cirrhosis is a common cause of liver failure. For example, in the middle and late stages of liver cirrhosis, liver function is completely decompensated, meaning the liver can no longer maintain its basic normal functions, leading to liver failure. Therefore, liver failure is one of the major consequences of liver cirrhosis, but the two are distinct. Liver failure can also be caused by other reasons not related to cirrhosis. For example, acute ischemia in the liver, such as in shock patients, can lead to liver ischemia and subsequently liver failure. Liver cirrhosis is just one of the common causes thereof.

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Written by Wu Hai Wu
Gastroenterology
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Why does cirrhosis cause increasing weight loss and what can be done about it?

The reason why patients with cirrhosis are becoming thinner might be due to the decreased protein synthesis function of the liver after cirrhosis, leading to progressively lesser protein in the body, which results in the patient becoming thinner. It could also be because cirrhosis leads to poor digestion and absorption in patients, thereby reducing their absorption capacity and causing them to lose weight. Under these circumstances, some medications can be used for treatment, such as the infusion of albumin to supplement plasma proteins in the body. It is also important to actively treat the underlying cause of cirrhosis. For example, in the case of alcoholic cirrhosis, active efforts to abstain from alcohol and rehabilitative treatment are necessary. If the cirrhosis is caused by chronic hepatitis B virus infection, antiviral treatment should be administered.

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Written by Wu Hai Wu
Gastroenterology
43sec home-news-image

Does early-stage cirrhosis cause leg swelling?

Generally, in the early stages of cirrhosis, there is no swelling in the legs. However, if a patient with cirrhosis reaches the advanced stage and develops hypoalbuminemia, swelling in the feet can easily occur. At the same time, there is also the possibility of complications such as ascites, portal hypertensive gastropathy, and esophagogastric varices, among others. If swelling of the legs occurs in patients with cirrhosis, it indicates that the patient has entered the decompensated stage. At this point, it is necessary to go to the hospital as soon as possible to complete the relevant examinations to determine the cause of the cirrhosis, so that targeted treatment can be administered based on the cause as soon as possible.