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A variety of modalities is available to image the liver and biliary tract, many offering complementary information; a combination of techniques is often required to make the diagnosis or determine optimal patient management. Ultrasonography (US) is commonly used as the primary investigation as it is safe, cheap and widely available. Computed tomography (CT) has a …

Lack of substantial advances in pre-clinical testing for hepatotoxicity has meant that drug-induced liver injury (DILI) remains an important issue during both the drug development and post-marketing phases. A number of drug-related, genetic and non-genetic host factors influence the risk of DILI in any individual. Demonstration of human leukocyte antigen genotype as a strong risk …

Histopathological assessments play an important role in the diagnosis and management of patients with liver disease. For some conditions, liver biopsy is still routinely used to establish the cause of liver disease. In other circumstances, evaluation of morphological changes provides additional information that is useful for clinical management, for example when assessing disease severity in …

Chronic hepatitis B (CHB) remains a major global healthcare challenge with changing epidemiology and increasing morbidity and mortality from the complications of liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Hepatitis B virus infection can be broadly categorized into four disease phases: (1) hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)-positive chronic infection; (2) HBeAg-positive chronic hepatitis; (3) HBeAg-negative chronic …

Hospital admissions because of alcohol-related liver disease (ArLD) are increasing. The amount of alcohol consumed and pattern of drinking are linked to increased risk of ArLD. However, other factors such as obesity, co-existent liver disease – particularly hepatitis C, gender, nutritional status and genetic factors also play a role. The spectrum of ArLD ranges from …

Jaundice, also known as icterus, is a yellowing of the skin, whites of the eyes, and body fluids due to an increase in the amount of bilirubin in the blood. Bilirubin is a yellowish pigment and byproduct of the natural daily breakdown of red blood cells (RBCs). Red blood cells typically survive for about 120 …

Patients with liver disease often require drug therapy. Because the liver is the main site of drug detoxification and elimination, each patient’s need for therapy must be carefully assessed; the choice of drug, its dose and the duration of therapy must be carefully considered to avoid adverse effects. Ideally, one should choose a drug that …