hepatic encephalopathy
Sign in to saveAlso known as HE, portal-systemic encephalopathy
brain disease that is characterized by loss of brain function, the occurrence of confusion, altered level of consciousness, and coma that results when the liver is unable to remove toxins from the blood
Key facts
- Other names
- Portosystemic encephalopathy, hepatic coma, coma hepaticum
- Specialty
- Gastroenterology
- Complications
- hepatic coma.
- Types
- Acute, recurrent, persistent
- Causes
- Liver failure
- Risk factors
- Infections , GI bleeding , constipation , electrolyte problems , certain medications
- Diagnostic method
- Based on symptoms after ruling out other possible causes
- Differential diagnosis
- Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome , delirium tremens , hypoglycemia , subdural hematoma , hyponatremia
- Treatment
- Supportive care , treating triggers, lactulose , liver transplant
- Prognosis
- Average life expectancy less than a year in those with severe disease
- Frequency
- Affects >40% with cirrhosis
via Wikipedia infobox
Research
19,055 papers- Diagnosis and Management of Hepatic Encephalopathy.Clinics in liver disease · 2021
- Hepatic Encephalopathy in Children.Indian journal of pediatrics · 2024
- Hepatic Encephalopathy.The New England journal of medicine · 2016
- Hepatic Encephalopathy: Clinical Manifestations.Clinics in liver disease · 2024
- Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy.Clinics in liver disease · 2020
via PubMed
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- disease
- Image
- Alzheimer type II astrocyte high mag.jpg
Show 9 more facts
- NCI Thesaurus ID
- C79596
- health specialty
- emergency medicine
- exact match
- identifiers.org/doid/DOID:13413
- symptoms and signs
- jaundice
- ICD-9-CM
- 572.2
- drug or therapy used for treatment
- β-lactulose
- has cause
- acute liver failure
- on focus list of Wikimedia project
- WikiProject Medicine
- Commons category
- Hepatic encephalopathy
Sources (7)
via Wikidata · CC0
~21 min read
Encyclopedic overview
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is an altered level of consciousness as a result of liver failure. Its onset may be gradual or sudden. Other symptoms may include movement problems, changes in mood, or changes in personality. In the advanced stages, it can result in a coma.
Hepatic encephalopathy can occur in those with acute or chronic liver disease. Episodes can be triggered by alcoholism, infections, gastrointestinal bleeding, constipation, electrolyte problems, or certain medications. The underlying mechanism is believed to involve the buildup of ammonia in the blood, a substance that is normally removed by the liver. The diagnosis is typically based on symptoms after ruling out other potential causes. It may be supported by blood ammonia levels, an electroencephalogram, or computer tomography (CT scan) of the brain.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “hepatic encephalopathy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.