Open AccessLiver in systemic disease
Author(s) -
Yukihiro Shimizu
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
world journal of gastroenterology
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.427
H-Index - 155
eISSN - 2219-2840
pISSN - 1007-9327
DOI - 10.3748/wjg.14.4111
Subject(s) - medicine , liver function tests , liver disease , nonalcoholic fatty liver disease , fulminant , autoimmune hepatitis , liver injury , systemic disease , liver function , gastroenterology , disease , fatty liver , fulminant hepatic failure , hepatitis , etiology , serology , pathology , immunology , liver transplantation , antibody , transplantation
Potential causes of abnormal liver function tests include viral hepatitis, alcohol intake, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, autoimmune liver diseases, hereditary diseases, hepatobiliary malignancies or infection, gallstones and drug-induced liver injury. Moreover, the liver may be involved in systemic diseases that mainly affect other organs. Therefore, in patients without etiology of liver injury by screening serology and diagnostic imaging, but who have systemic diseases, the abnormal liver function test results might be caused by the systemic disease. In most of these patients, the systemic disease should be treated primarily. However, some patients with systemic disease and severe liver injury or fulminant hepatic failure require intensive treatments of the liver.