Incidence of complications associated with liver cirrhosis

Abstract

Introduction. Liver cirrhosis is the final stage of various chro­nic liver diseases, being characterized by abnormal struc­ture due to fibrosis and regenerating nodules. The Child-Pugh score is calculated to assess the prognosis in pa­tients with liver cirrhosis. The specific aim of this study was to create an overview of the complications associated with each Child-Pugh category, which will lead to closer mo­ni­to­ring and a targeted, tailored and individualized the­ra­peu­tic approach. Materials and method. We made a retrospective study on a series of 144 consecutive patients who were admitted in the Gastroenterology Department of the Târgu-Mureş County Clinical Emergency Hospital between the 1st of January 2019 and the 31st of December 2019. In order to eva­luate the complications associated with each Child-Pugh category, the enrolled participants were stratified in three groups ac­cor­ding to Child-Pugh score. Results. The major patho­phy­sio­lo­gical consequence of liver cirrhosis remains portal hypertension, followed by its complications, such as ascites and esophageal varices. According to the Child-Pugh score, the distribution was as follows: 47% for class C, 29% for class B and 24% for class A. Regarding the etiology of liver disease, the one with the highest involvement was the ethanolic one, in proportion of 71%, followed by the viral one – 20% and other causes – 9%. As cirrhosis stage progresses, com­pli­ca­tions are more frequent, with multiple side effects as­so­cia­tions, which lead to therapeutic approaches adapted to each case. Conclusions. Regarding the complications as­so­cia­ted with each degree of cirrhosis, an increase in their prevalence was observed as the result of the Child-Pugh score increases. The management of patients with cir­­rhosis must take this score into account, in order to pre­vent complications or to properly treat the secondary ma­ni­fes­ta­tions that have already occurred.