To study the incidence and profile of alcoholic liver disease in dependant alcoholics, 56 patient... more To study the incidence and profile of alcoholic liver disease in dependant alcoholics, 56 patients, 31 with moderate and 25 with severe dependence on alcohol, were assessed by a severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire. All the patients were males. Forty-five (80.4%) dependant alcoholics were found to have alcoholic liver disease, diagnosed either by abnormal biochemical tests (78.6%) or when available, specific histological lesions (87.8%). Of the 49 (87.5%) patients in whom liver biopsy could be obtained, fatty liver was seen in 17 (34.7%), hepatitis in 22 (44.9%) and cirrhosis in four (8.2%) patients. Liver biopsy was normal in the remaining six (12.2%) patients. Symptoms suggestive of alcoholic liver disease were however, observed in only 18.6% patients. No significant difference was seen in the nature and severity of biochemical and histological liver injury between patients with moderate or severe dependence on alcohol.It can be concluded that significant hepatic abnormalities exist in a high percentage of dependant alcoholics in India. Increased awareness and institution of measures for early screening of these patients for the presence of underlying liver disease are warranted.
To study the incidence and profile of alcoholic liver disease in dependant alcoholics, 56 patient... more To study the incidence and profile of alcoholic liver disease in dependant alcoholics, 56 patients, 31 with moderate and 25 with severe dependence on alcohol, were assessed by a severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire. All the patients were males. Forty-five (80.4%) dependant alcoholics were found to have alcoholic liver disease, diagnosed either by abnormal biochemical tests (78.6%) or when available, specific histological lesions (87.8%). Of the 49 (87.5%) patients in whom liver biopsy could be obtained, fatty liver was seen in 17 (34.7%), hepatitis in 22 (44.9%) and cirrhosis in four (8.2%) patients. Liver biopsy was normal in the remaining six (12.2%) patients. Symptoms suggestive of alcoholic liver disease were however, observed in only 18.6% patients. No significant difference was seen in the nature and severity of biochemical and histological liver injury between patients with moderate or severe dependence on alcohol.It can be concluded that significant hepatic abnormalities exist in a high percentage of dependant alcoholics in India. Increased awareness and institution of measures for early screening of these patients for the presence of underlying liver disease are warranted.
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