Open AccessCroatian guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Author(s) -
Martina Tomić,
R Vrabec,
Spomenka Ljubić,
Tomislav Bulum,
Ingrid Prkačin,
Dario Rahelić
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta clinica croatica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.274
H-Index - 20
eISSN - 1333-9451
pISSN - 0353-9466
DOI - 10.20471/acc.2021.60.s1.03
Subject(s) - nonalcoholic fatty liver disease , medicine , metabolic syndrome , fatty liver , disease , fibrosis , insulin resistance , diabetes mellitus , risk factor , gastroenterology , intensive care medicine , obesity , endocrinology
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a term describing excessive accumulation of fat in hepatocytes, and is associated with metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance. NAFLD prevalence is on increase and goes in parallel with the increasing prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components. That is why Croatian guidelines have been developed, which cover the screening protocol for patients with NAFLD risk factors, and the recommended diagnostic work-up and treatment of NAFLD patients. NAFLD screening should be done in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, or persons with two or more risk factors as part of metabolic screening, and is carried out by noninvasive laboratory and imaging methods used to detect fibrosis. Patient work-up should exclude the existence of other causes of liver injury and determine the stage of fibrosis as the most important factor in disease prognosis. Patients with initial stages of fibrosis continue to be monitored at the primary healthcare level with the management of metabolic risk factors, dietary measures, and increased physical activity. Patients with advanced fibrosis should be referred to a gastroenterologist/hepatologist for further treatment, monitoring, and detection and management of complications.