Neuropsychological tools in hepatology: a survival guide for the clinician

Abstract

Neuropsychological assessment has three main applications in clinical hepatology: (i) to detect, grade and monitor liver failure-related cognitive alterations in end-stage liver disease (hepatic encephalopathy), (ii) to substantiate complaints of attention or concentration difficulties in patients with non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C viral infection, and (iii) to screen patients who are being considered for liver transplantation for early signs of dementia. However, there is limited agreement on how cognitive assessment should be conducted in these patients, and how results should be interpreted and used to implement clinical decisions. In this review, we summarize the available literature on neuropsychological dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis and with chronic hepatitis C viral infection and provide some guidance on how to utilize neuropsychological assessment in practice.