Aetiology, complications, and preventive measures of liver cirrhosis; Elobeid Hospital; West Sudan

Abstract

Objectives: to determine the common causes of liver cirrhosis, identify the common complications, and to find the possible preventive measures of the disease at Elobeid Hospital; West Sudan. Patients and method: This is a retrospective hospital based study. It was carried out in Elobeid Teaching Hospital. The medical and socio-demographic data of 61 patients who were admitted to the medical wards in the period from January 2006 to June 2007 with liver cirrhosis were retrieved and reviewed. Results: Out of the 61 patients 38(62%) were males. The age of the patients ranged from 17 to 80 years, with mean (± SD) of 49 ± 12.9 years. Alcohol consumption was found to be the commonest cause of liver cirrhosis, followed by hepatitis B infection. Hepatitis C infection determined as a cause of liver cirrhosis in only one patient. Common complications included ascites (92%), hepatic encephalopathy (19%), portal hypertension (8%), hepatocellular carcinoma (5%), and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (3%). In the majority of patients, management was based on diuretics (furosemide and spironolactone) and dietary sodium restriction. Few patients received albumin infusion before therapeutic ascitic fluid aspiration. Silymarin in combination with multivitamins was commonly used in management of our patients. Conclusion: Ethanol consumption and HBV infection were the commonest causes of liver cirrhosis in our patients. Religious and Health education to abandon ethanol intake and prohibit traditional practices that could predispose individuals to hepatitis B infection should be emphasized. Universal immunization with hepatitis B vaccine should be commenced to reduce the incidence of HBVrelated chronic liver diseases. Keywords: alcohol, hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, hepatocellular carcinoma.Sudan Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 3 (1) 2008: pp. 25-28