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Cirrhosis of the Liver
Risk factorsExcessive drinking is the single greatest risk factor for cirrhosis. The type of alcohol is less important than the amount consumed over a period of years. What's more, even small amounts of alcohol can be damaging if you're infected with the hepatitis B or C virus. Other risk factors include: Chronic infection with hepatitis C or B. Most people with hepatitis C became infected through blood transfusions received before 1992, the year improved blood-screening tests became available. You can also contract the virus by injecting intravenous drugs using contaminated needles or, less commonly, from needles used in tattooing or body piercing. Hepatitis B is usually transmitted sexually or through contaminated needles. Long-term infection with hepatitis C slowly damages the liver, with cirrhosis developing in 20 percent of people 20 or more years after infection. The older you are when you're infected with the hepatitis C virus, the more likely you are to develop cirrhosis. Sex. More men than women develop cirrhosis, primarily because men tend to drink more heavily than do women. Certain inherited diseases. These include diseases that cause excess copper or iron to be deposited in the liver as well as galactosemia — a rare disorder that affects the way the body metabolizes milk sugar (lactose) — and glycogen storage diseases, which prevent glycogen, the stored form of glucose, from being formed or released when it's needed by the body. Drug reactions and exposure to environmental toxins. In rare cases, cirrhosis may result from a severe reaction to the drug methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Folex), an immune-suppressing medication, or to amiodarone (Cordarone, Pacerone), which is used to treat heart arrhythmias. Long-term exposure to environmental toxins such as arsenic can also cause cirrhosis. How is Cirrhosis Diagnosed?The doctor often can diagnose cirrhosis from the patient’s symptoms and from laboratory tests. During a physical exam, for instance, the doctor could notice a change in how your liver feels or how large it is. If the doctor suspects cirrhosis, you will be given blood tests. The purpose of these tests is to find out if liver disease is present. In some cases, other tests that take pictures of the liver are performed such as the computerized axial tomography (CAT) scan, ultrasound, and the radioisotope liver/spleen scan. The doctor may decide to confirm the diagnosis by putting a needle through the skin (biopsy) to take a sample of tissue from the liver. In some cases, cirrhosis is diagnosed during surgery when the doctor is able to see the entire liver. The liver also can be inspected through a laparoscope, a viewing device that is inserted through a tiny incision in the abdomen.
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