How dangerous is decompensated cirrhosis?

The article was professionally consulted by MSc Vu Van Quan - Department of General Surgery & Anesthesia - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.

When the liver is damaged, the liver cells will try to repair themselves, resulting in scar tissue being formed, an indirect measure that causes decompensated cirrhosis. The cause of the pathology is chronic hepatitis or alcohol abuse disorder.

Cirrhosis when being attacked by harmful agents for a long time, leading to damage to liver cells, gradually dying and creating scar tissue, which can't be recovered, making the liver gradually harden and impractical. show normal liver function.
Cirrhosis caused by many causes will develop through 2 stages including compensated cirrhosis and decompensated cirrhosis. Patients at each stage will have different symptoms, in which decompensated cirrhosis or ascites is the final stage of cirrhosis.
Patients with end-stage cirrhosis will progress in a bad way because the liver cannot perform the detoxification function, causing the body to be poisoned.
There are 3 main causes of decompensated cirrhosis including:
Hepatitis B, hepatitis C Fatty liver Alcohol abuse. In addition, there are a number of other causes affecting liver disease that can be mentioned:
Iron overload Cystic fibrosis Wilson's disease Cholangitis Inherited digestive disorders Side effects of drugs methotrexate (Rheumatrex), amiodarone (Cordarone) ) and methyldopa (Aldomet) Alagille syndrome.

Cirrhosis ascites (decompensated cirrhosis) is a disease of liver function and is the final stage of cirrhosis - when the liver's ability to recover and remove toxins from the body is no longer available.
Ascites is formed due to the accumulation of fluid causing swelling in the abdomen. In a healthy person, the peritoneal cavity between the parietal and visceral leaves is a virtual space without water, if any, only a small amount of lubricating mucus. If there is an amount of fluid between the visceral and parietal leaves of the peritoneum, it is called peritoneal effusion or ascites. Peritoneal fluid or ascites has a large amount of albumin-like protein, pale yellow.
Manifestations of cirrhosis and ascites are usually only detected when the disease is very serious, no longer able to recover. In the final stage, liver cells have been severely damaged or the disease has turned into liver cancer. Patients in this stage often have symptoms such as water retention, edema, abdominal distention, fragility of blood vessels, kidney failure because the liver no longer has the function of detoxifying, so the kidneys work often, the kidneys are overloaded easily. cause impaired renal function.
Loss of weight in a short time. Feet are swollen, soft, when pressed, there is an indentation, it takes 1-2 minutes to disappear. Black stools, large abdomen due to stagnant ascites. There is ascites from little to many, abdominal distension, ascites recurs quickly. The skin is light yellow, then darker yellow, initially yellow appears on the mucous membranes and then spreads to the whole body. The liver cannot filter ammonia, so the brain is poisoned, making the patient comatose, falling into a state when fainting, when awake. Renal failure, varicose veins on the skin, lips, tongue, mucous membranes of the eyes pale, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, anemia, ecchymosis under the skin due to peritonitis, pale clay-like stools. Patients in the stage of decompensated cirrhosis can turn to cancer, causing death in a short time.

For patients with cirrhosis, the most important thing is to monitor and screen for liver cancer every 3 to 6 months by doing abdominal ultrasound and blood tests to detect liver cancer early.
Cirrhosis caused by causes such as hepatitis B and C virus, alcohol, iron accumulation disease in tissues and primary biliary cirrhosis are easy to progress to liver cancer. The patient may not have any symptoms until the tumor is discovered incidentally in the liver during physical examination and abdominal ultrasound.
Treatment of cirrhosis of the liver with ascites by means of fluid absorption is a method of using a drug treatment regimen in combination with a reasonable diet to limit the absorption of water and ascites in the abdomen, reduce blood pressure. Strengthens the liver and kidneys, reduces the burden on the abdomen when hungry, helps promote blood circulation, circulation of fluids in the body.
Vinmec International General Hospital provides customers with a standard to advanced hepatobiliary screening package to help diagnose cirrhosis in particular and hepatobiliary diseases in general.
Vinmec is a prestigious and reliable address in the field of screening and treatment of hepatobiliary diseases, with the following outstanding advantages:
Vinmec is one of the few hospitals across the country applying elastic ultrasound liver tissue (also known as ARFI technique) to monitor liver disease, assess the degree of cirrhosis such as imaging, test kits from basic to advanced.
With the modern LOGIQ E9 ultrasound system, the powerful and flexible ultrasound imaging system meets a wide range of general examination needs. New technology using Shear Wave: This is a technology that allows qualitative and quantitative measurement of the elastic energy of the parenchyma through a color-coded table along with the value of elastic levels in Kpa pressure units.
A team of specialists with rich professional experience helps the treatment process to be highly effective, shortening the treatment time.
Professional and comprehensive examination and consultation service, civilized, polite, safe examination space, maximum sterilization.
From October 2019, Vinmec Hai Phong Hospital welcomes specialists in Gastroenterology - Liver, bile, and pancreas from 108 Military Central Hospital to visit periodically for diseases of the stomach, esophagus, colorectal, etc. Liver, spleen, biliary tract, pancreas, anal fistula, rectal prolapse, gastrointestinal cancer screening... At the request of the patient, Senior Doctor Le Van Thanh - Head of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery – Military Central Hospital 108 will directly operate. Schedule on Saturday, surgery on Sunday so that customers can easily arrange their personal time and have more time to recover after the intervention.
Customers can directly go to Vinmec Health system nationwide to visit or contact the hotline here for support.