Is fatty liver grade 3 dangerous?

The article was professionally consulted by Specialist Doctor I Le Nguyen Hong Tram - Gastroenterologist - Department of Medical Examination & Internal Medicine - Vinmec Nha Trang International General Hospital. The doctor has many years of experience in the examination and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, especially gastrointestinal - hepatobiliary diseases, gastrointestinal endoscopy and general internal diseases.

Grade 3 fatty liver is the final stage of fatty liver disease. If not treated in time, the disease will turn to cirrhosis or even liver cancer and lead to rapid death.

Fatty liver disease has 3 levels:
Fatty liver grade 1 is the first stage of fatty liver disease; Grade 2 fatty liver, the amount of fat accumulated in this organ increases significantly along with the decline in liver function. Healthy cells that carry out various important functions begin to die when too much fat enters; Grade 3 fatty liver occurs when patients do not consciously adjust their lifestyle, diet or have timely medical interventions. Grade 3 fatty liver is the most dangerous of all levels of the disease. If the test result is positive for grade 3 fatty liver, it means that fat accumulated in the liver has invaded the entire organ and led to hepatitis. At this time, the capillaries, including the arteries and veins, have difficulty transporting blood and nutrients to the body. Thereby, the patient is at a very high risk of developing vascular occlusion and portal hypertension.
Blood pooling in the portal vein system causes blood to be diverted into the umbilical vein and other capillaries in the abdominal wall. As a result, these blood vessels are clearly visible on the surface of the skin in the abdomen. In addition, the patient may also have jaundice or yellow eyes.

The most common cause of fatty liver is alcohol. But in many cases, there are still patients with fatty liver who are not in the heavy drinking group. When the body absorbs too much fat or does not metabolize fat in time, excess fat will be stored in liver cells and cause fatty liver. However, a high-fat diet is not necessarily the cause of this condition.
In addition to alcohol, there are some other common causes such as: being overweight / obese, high blood fat, diabetes, genetics, losing weight too quickly or as a side effect of some drugs like Aspirin , Steroids, Tamoxifen or Tetracycline.

Fatty liver rarely has obvious symptoms. The first symptoms are usually just a warm and slightly uncomfortable stomach. On physical examination, your doctor may find that your liver is slightly enlarged. When there is too much fat in the liver, it causes hepatitis. At that time, the main symptoms will be loss of appetite, weight loss, abdominal pain or extreme fatigue and jaundice.
Depending on the stage and level of the disease, fatty liver will have different levels of disease manifestations. Specifically:
Fatty liver grade 1: no obvious symptoms. Fatty liver grade 2: may experience symptoms such as indigestion, bloating, loss of appetite, fatigue, nausea, but these symptoms are often atypical and appear infrequently. Fatty liver grade 3: When the body is tired with prolonged anorexia, or nausea, pain in the right lower quadrant, pain when pressed, pale skin, yellow eye whites, angiomas on the skin, rapid weight loss... then you may have fatty liver level 3. Fatty liver can be completely cured if detected in the early stages (fatty liver grade 1). At level 2 of the disease, the patient may fall into a state of fatigue, loss of appetite and more pain, but it is still possible to cure and restore the liver to its original state.
At the stage of fatty liver grade 3 is the most dangerous of the disease with obvious outward manifestations as mentioned above. Even with treatment, the disease will still leave many complications and it will be difficult to restore the liver to its original state, if not impossible. There are many cases where the disease has progressed to this level, but the sufferer is still subjective, ignoring the warning signs of the disease.
Untreated grade 3 fatty liver is one of the causes of cirrhosis and liver cancer. According to statistics, up to 20% of cases of severe fatty liver can lead to cirrhosis and 11% of these deaths are related to liver problems. When you have cirrhosis, scar tissue will appear and gradually replace healthy liver cells. The greater the number of scars, the more significantly the liver's function will decline.
If liver dysfunction occurs, the results of the ALT and AST tests will show high levels of liver enzymes in the blood. In addition, because the liver is no longer able to produce clotting factors, albumin and prothrombin levels will also be abnormal.
Symptoms of fatty liver grade 3 are more dangerous than the signs in the previous 2 stages. Patients may lose consciousness, go into a deep coma or even in some cases require hemodialysis to filter the blood.

People with fatty liver disease need to limit certain foods. Which includes eliminating alcoholic beverages such as beer, wine... out of your daily diet. The diet should also be tightened for patients with fatty liver in general and grade 3 fatty liver in particular. It is necessary to limit processed foods with a lot of fat, give up hot spicy foods and change animal fats to vegetable oils. On the other hand, the patient should also reduce the daily salt intake to a minimum to prevent the accumulation of fluid in the body (ascites) from getting worse.
Fresh green vegetables and fruits are two food groups that people with fatty liver must use regularly. They contain large amounts of vitamins and minerals that improve liver health. For example, the malic acid content in apples aids in the resolution of gallstones in the gallbladder and liver, helping to reduce pressure on liver function.
Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital is implementing a hepatobiliary screening package that includes all tests to help: evaluate the liver's ability to work through liver enzyme tests, evaluate function Hepatobiliary system, performing tests such as complete blood cell analysis, screening for hepatitis B and C, evaluating hepatobiliary status through ultrasound images. From there, bring peace of mind and accurate results to customers.
When there are signs of liver disorders or even if there are no symptoms, people with fatty liver disease should actively test liver function. This is necessary to protect your own health.