Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023890 (cirrhosis)
 42,195 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Occurrence of fever in a patient with liver cirrhosis should suggest the following: 1. Endotoxemia. Endotoxins are normally present in portal blood; in hepatic cirrhosis they are insufficiently cleared by the liver and their presence can be demonstrated in the systemic circulation by the "limulus test". Fever is one of the many consequences ascribed to the presence of endotoxins in the blood. 2. Infections. Cirrhosis and alcoholism (which often accompanies it) impair host defenses against bacteria and other organisms. Thus, infections are actually more frequent in hepatic cirrhosis as is shown by the example of bacterial endocarditis. Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis must be searched for carefully when ascites is present. 3. Alcoholic hepatitis. This diagnosis is established histologically. The usual symptoms, occurring with variable incidence, include anorexia, nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain, fever and jaundice in the presence of hepatomegaly, leukocytosis and an elevated SGOT. Differential diagnosis from obstructive jaundice and a severe prognosis without alcohol abstinence make early diagnosis mandatory. Its evolution in cirrhosis can be astonishingly rapid. In the absence of hepatic encephalopathy, corticosteroids do not appear to be recommended. 4. Hepatoma.
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PMID:[Fever and liver cirrhosis]. 22 38

Indications, selection of donor and recipient, medical and surgical management and complications, problems of organ procurement. Renal transplantation has become routine therapy. Organs are predominantly obtained from cadavers, transplantations from living donors are rarely indicated. Advances in preservation methods have improved organ quality and prolonged storage time. Selection of the most suitable recipient is based on histocompatibility matching. Blood transfusions before transplantation seem to improve the results. Recognition of a rejection crisis is primarily based on clinical symptoms. Persistent rejection calls for prompt explantation and the patient has to return to dialysis. Infections, serum-hepatitis and gastro-intestinal bleeding are the most common complications. Late complicatons are diabetes mellitus, cirrhosis of the liver, osteopathy, recurring glomerulonephritis, and, rarely, malignomas. Transplantation frequency in the Federal Republic of Germany could be increased by more awareness of physicians and a better knowledge of the general public about the need for cadaver donors.
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PMID:[Kidney transplantation from a nephrological-urological viewpoint--results and problems. 2. Diagnosis and therapy after transplantation, complications, long-term results]. 33 52

During a five year period 36 episodes of septicaemia in 32 patients with hepatic cirrhosis were documented. This represents 20% of the patients hospitalized with a decompensated cirrhosis and 1.1% of the patients with non decompensated cirrhosis. In patients with decompensated cirrhosis, enteric Gram-negative organisms were most frequently isolated (91% of the cases) and ascitis was infected in one third of the cases. No primary foci of infection were documented. On the contrary patients with a non decompensated cirrhosis had infection mostly with Gram-positive organisms (82%) and foci of infection (skin, throat) were documented in 38% of the cases. Infection by enteric organisms was associated with higher mortality than infection by non enteric organisms (68% vs 28%). Five patients with inappropriate antibiotic treatment died from septic shock. Spontaneous septicaemia and peritonitis are frequent complications if cirrhosis. There are potentially treatable causes of deterioration in the cirrhotic patient, necessitating prompt recognition and treatment.
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PMID:[Septicaemia and spontaneous peritonitis in the cirrhotic (author's transl)]. 49 65

This study was designed to compare the clinical and immunological characteristics of the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)-positive and HBsAg-negative (cryptogenic) forms of chronic active hepatitis. The data of 48 patients with chronic active hepatitis, 24 with persistent HBs antigenemia and 24 without HBsAg, were analysed. HBsAg was detected by counter-immunoelectrophoresis and radioimmunoassay. The clinical features, biochemical liver function tests, immunoglobulins, complement C3, antoantibodies, and cell-mediated immunoreactivity of the two forms of the disease were compared. Cirrhosis was found to occur more frequently at the time of diagnosis in the HBsAg-negative group, and the serum alkaline phosphatase level was raised significantly compared to the HBsAg-positive form. The elevation of the IgG level was greater in the cryptogenic form, but the difference was not statistically significant compared to the HBsAg-positive patients. There was a marked difference in the frequency of the mitochondrial antibodies, but not of the antinuclear factor and other autoantibody-like serum factors. Lymphoblastic transformation revealed a similar diminution in response to phytohaemagglutinin stimulation in both groups of patients compared to the normal controls. An increase of the 3H-thymidine incorporation was seen after stimulation with human liver mitochondrial antigen, and leukocyte migration inhibition could be observed with this antigen in both forms of chronic active hepatitis.
Infection 1977
PMID:Chronic active hepatitis in patients with and without hepatitis B surface antigenemia. 91 64

Sixteen cases of chronic Q fever are described. In eight there was a history of exposure to infection from farms or farm products. All had valvular heart disease, involving the mitral valve in nine and the aortic valve in seven. Infection occurred on a prosthetic valve in two patients. Arterial embolism was common. Venous thrombosis occured in three patients, and pulmonary embolism occurred in three other patients. Complement fixing antibodies to phase 1 antigen were found in a titre of 1:200 or greater in all except two patients. In one of these post-mortem examination revealed rickettsial bodies in mitral valve vegetations, and in the other Coxiella burneti was isolated from heart valve tissue. The majority presented with infective endocarditis but two presented primarily with liver disease. All patients had evidence of liver involvement and in one this led to death from cirrhosis. Abnormal tests of liver function, particularly hyperglobulinaemia, raised alkaline phsophatase and abnormal bromsulphthalein retention were found in all patients. Hepatic histology was abnormal in all eight patients in whom it was studied. The commonest features were mononuclear cell infiltration of the portal tracts and prominence of the sinusoidal Kupffer cells. Patchy focal necrosis of parenchymal cells, granulomata, fatty change, and eosinophilia of the sinusoidal walls were also noted in several patients and cirrhosis developed in one. Six patients had a purpuric rash, and in 12 there was thrombocytopenia. It is suggested that the presence of hepatomegaly and liver involvement and thrombocytopenia may help to differentiate Q fever endocarditis from bacterial endocarditis. Raised serum IgM and IgA levels occured frequently, but with only a moderate dominance of IgM. Sheep cell agglutination and latex fixation tests for rheumatoid factor were occasionally positive. Several features of the disease suggest the possibility that immune-complex mechanisms may play a role in chronic Q fever. Treatment was with prolonged courses of tetracycline usually combined with lincomycin. Seven patients underwent valve replacement surgery for haemodynamic reasons. Five patients died; two from heart failure, one from cirrhosis, one seven days after valve replacement and one from intraperitoneal haemorrhage following percutaneous liver biopsy. Three patients have survived for more than five years, and another six for more than three and a half years after diagnosis. Of these nine patients, three received medical therapy alone and six required valve replacement as well. Antibiotics have been discontinued in four patients who have had valve surgery and three others. Six patients had received antibiotics for continuous periods varying from 29-62 months. In the period after stopping therapy varying from 15-21 months, no relapse has occured. A seventh patient, who had received antibiotics for four months prior to valve replacement, has survived 43 months after the withdrawal of antibiotics...
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PMID:Chronic Q fever. 94 Sep 18

In each of 23 families in which two or more cases of acute hepatitis-like jaundice (index cases) occurred, all family members were studied to evaluate HBAg clustering and the incidence of asymptomatic liver disease. There were 49 "index cases" of hepatitis-like jaundice: 38 cases of acute viral hepatitis, 5 of chronic agressive hepatitis and 6 of active cirrhosis. The overall number of members in these families (excluding index cases) was 170 and 155 of which were tested by clinical examination, laboratory tests and needle liver biopsy. In 27 out of the 155 subjects there was evidence of liver diseases (10 non icteric hepatitis cases, 12 CAH cases and 5 cirrhosis cases). HBAg was present in the serum of 19 of these patients, and twof the cirrhotic patients were positive. Furthermore, 33 of the 155 cases were healthy HGAg carriers showing no abnormality in liver function tests. In the majority of these carriers liver histology showed slight damage (pin-head necrosis or portitis) sometimes compatible with resolving viral hepatitis. A long-term follow-up of the HGAg carriers showed that three of these subjects progressed to acute viral hepatitis.
Infection 1975
PMID:Familial clustering of hepatitis B antigen and liver diseases in families with a high incidence of viral hepatitis. 118 96

We studied the prevalence of antibodies against hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) among 530 household contacts of 225 anti-HCV-positive subjects (index cases). Twenty-six (4.9%) relatives had anti-HCV, a proportion higher than that found among blood donors (175 of 22,435; 0.78%) (p less than 0.001). We did not find any differences regarding the type of relation with the index case (sexual or nonsexual). The prevalence of anti-HCV increased with the age of the relatives, with the contact time with the index case, and with the time of exposure to HCV. On the other hand, the anti-HCV was associated mainly with the existence of cirrhosis or hepatocellular carcinoma in the patient. We concluded that intrafamilial transmission may be an important mechanism in the spread of HCV.
Infection
PMID:Intrafamilial spread of hepatitis C virus. 172 66

Infections are frequent in patients with liver cirrhosis, as their defenses against infectious agents are altered. But bacteremia occurring in cirrhotic patients has seldom been reported in the literature. From 1981 to 1986, we collected 197 cases with 228 episodes of bacteremia for this retrospective study. The incidence of bacteremia in cirrhotic patients was 8.8%; no significant difference was noted between cirrhotic patients with variant etiologies of HBV(+), HBV(-) and alcohol. But the incidence increased with the severity of the disease (1%, 4.8%, 17.1% in Child's A, B, C groups, respectively). Gram-negative bacteria were the predominant microorganisms of bacteremia (75.6%). Among them, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Aeromonas hydrophilia were the three most commonly detected microorganisms. Gram-positive bacterias were detected in 21.2% of patients with bacteremia, with predominance of the Streptococcus group and Staphylococcus aureus. In about 26.3% of cases the infectious sources were the same by bacteria cultures as from blood. The most common sources were spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, urinary tract infection, pneumonia and biliary tree infection. In cirrhotic patients with and without bacteremia, the mortality rate increased significantly in the bacteremia group (54.8% vs 23.2%, P less than 0.05). By Child's classification, the mortality of patients with classes B and C increased significantly after onset of bacteremia. There was no significant difference in mortality between bacteremic patients in the HBV(+), HBV(-) and alcohol groups. In conclusion, bacteremia is a severe complication of liver cirrhosis and a sign of a poor prognosis.
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PMID:Bacteremia in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. 177 12

We studied the interaction between HBV and HDV infection in 149 consecutive subjects with HBsAg positive chronic hepatitis and in 22 chronic HBsAg healthy carriers. Liver HBcAg was detected in 52 (30.4%) of the 171 subjects. Of these 52, 35 were HBV-DNA and HBeAg positive, 11 HBV-DNA positive only; two HBeAg positive only and four were negative for both HBeAg and HBV-DNA. None of the 119 HBcAg-negative subjects had detectable HBV-DNA in serum. HD-Ag in hepatocytes was detected in 31 of the 171 subjects (18%); it was detectable in none of the 22 HBsAg healthy carriers, in four of the 56 patients with chronic persistent hepatitis (7.2%), in six of the 24 patients with chronic lobular hepatitis (25%), in 16 of the 40 patients with chronic active hepatitis (40%) and in five of the 29 with cirrhosis (17%). A presence of anti-HD in serum in the absence of liver HD-Ag was found in 54 of the 171 subjects (32%). This condition was observed not only in patients with a progressive disease (37.7% of chronic active hepatitis or cirrhosis and 33% of chronic lobular hepatitis), but also in healthy carriers (36%) and in chronic persistent hepatitis patients (21.4%). Liver HBcAg was detected in 6.4% of the 31 HD-Ag-positive patients, in 12.9% of the 54 HD-Ag-negative/anti-HD positive, but in 50% of the 86 with no marker of HDV infection. HDV appears to inhibit HBV genome and such inhibition may persist even when anti-HD is the only HDV marker detectable.
Infection
PMID:Interaction between HDV and HBV infection in HBsAg-chronic carriers. 188 68

Echinococcosis, an endemic disease on the Asian continent, is caused by the tapeworm Tenia Echinococcus, which produces cysts in the liver and other organs. I reviewed 157 patients with hydatid disease of the liver. The hydatid cysts were single in 125 patients and predominantly in the right lobe, but multiple in 31 patients, localized in both lobes or in the lung, spleen, pancreas, heart, or peritoneum. In 14 patients, early complications were manifested by rupture of the cyst into the biliary tract, the lung, or the peritoneum. Infection of the cysts was rare. Late postsurgical complications, noted in 10, were the development of an abscess or cirrhosis. I evaluated the importance of computed tomography (CT) in the diagnosis of hydatidosis of the liver and other visceral organs: It made a correct and accurate diagnosis in 96% of 157 patients. But, in ruptured or infected cysts, CT scans could not distinguish between a hydatid cyst and an abscess. Surgery is still the treatment of choice in hydatid disease. It is absolutely indicated in complicated cases, and is easy and curative in uncomplicated ones. I have used Mebendazole in 18 patients for 2 years without significant benefit, except in two patients with disseminated hydatidosis. Mebendazole stabilized the disease.
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PMID:New perspectives in the diagnosis of Echinococcus disease. 191 47


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