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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffComplications of cirrhosis can include:
- More frequent infections. If you have cirrhosis, your body may have difficulty fighting infections.
- Malnutrition. Cirrhosis may make it more difficult for your body to process nutrients. This can lead to weakness and weight loss.
- High levels of toxins in the blood (hepatic encephalopathy). A liver damaged by cirrhosis isn't able to clear toxins from the blood as well as a healthy liver can. Toxins in the blood can cause confusion and difficulty concentrating. With time, hepatic encephalopathy can progress to unresponsiveness or coma.
- Bleeding related to increasing pressure in the main vein that brings blood to the liver (portal hypertension). Scar tissue can make it difficult for blood to flow freely through the liver. This causes increased pressure in the portal vein, which causes blood to be redirected to smaller veins near the liver. Those smaller veins may become overwhelmed by the pressure and can burst, causing serious bleeding. Building pressure can also enlarge the veins in your esophagus, which can lead to life-threatening bleeding. This is called esophageal varices. In the stomach this is called gastric varices.
- Abdominal and leg swelling. Fluid can accumulate in the abdomen and legs, causing swelling. This may occur as a complication of portal hypertension or when liver fails to make certain blood proteins.
- Increased risk of liver cancer. Cirrhosis can increase your risk of liver cancer. For this reason, your doctor may recommend regular ultrasound examinations of your liver to look for abnormalities.
References
- Cirrhosis. National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/cirrhosis/index.htm. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Ferri FF. Cirrhosis. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05610-6..C2009-0-38600-6--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05610-6&about=true&uniqId=230100505-53. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Understanding cirrhosis of the liver. American Gastroenterological Association. http://www.gastro.org/frame-templates/print_template.cfm. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Jones AL, et al. Hepatic toxicology. In: Shannon MW, et al. Haddad and Winchester's Clinical Management of Poisoning and Drug Overdose. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-7216-0693-4..50002-5&isbn=978-0-7216-0693-4&uniqId=226391226-4. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Your liver. Your life. American Liver Foundation. http://www.yourliver.org/Liver-Wellness-Presentation.pdf. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Sanchez W, et al. Liver cirrhosis. The American College of Gastroenterology. http://www.acg.gi.org/patients/gihealth/livercirrhosis.asp. Accessed Nov. 12, 2010.
- Rambaldi A, et al. S-adenosyl-L-methionine for alcoholic liver disease (review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2006:CD002235.
- Rambaldi A, et al. Milk thistle for alcoholic and/or hepatitis B or C virus liver diseases (review). Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2007:CD003620.
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