Detection Of Hepatic Encephalopathy Research Articles

P26 Reevaluation of the Critical Flicker Frequency in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis Reveals New Perspectives of Its Diagnostic Impact in the Detection of Hepatic Encephalopathy

P26 Reevaluation of the Critical Flicker Frequency in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis Reveals New Perspectives of Its Diagnostic Impact in the Detection of Hepatic Encephalopathy

Detection of hepatic encephalopathy.

The most sensitive index of hepatic encephalopathy in 29 patients following a porta-caval shunt appeared to be the assessment of a close relative who had known the patient pre-operatively. They noticed that 19 of the 20 patients were mentally slower; 11 were markedly aggressive and 8 had become placid and uncaring about family problems. Only 9 of these patients had clinical encephalopathy as judged by two independent observers, 14 had a prolonged trail test and 8 produced an abnormal five-pointed star. Eight patients were forced to retire prematurely after the operation due to ill health and 20 felt that their marriage had deteriorated. Eighteen of the 29 patients had a lie score on the Eysenck personality questionnaire (an index of 'social naïvety') which was more than one standard deviation above the mean value for a large control group (P less than 0.01). This did not correlate with other measurements of encephalopathy, but 8 out of the 11 patients who exhibited aggressive behaviour had an abnormal score.