Radiological and Biochemical aspect of Alcoholic Liver Disease: A Prospective study

Background: Alcoholic cirrhosis is second leading indication for liver transplantation in United States and Europe. The spectrum of alcohol related liver injury varies from simple steatosis to cirrhosis; patients with alcoholic cirrhosis have high prevalence of complications at the time of cirrhosis diagnosis. So there is a need to study the radiology and underlying biochemical changes for early diagnosis to reduce morbidity and mortality in case of alcoholic liver disease. Methodology: the patients visiting the OPD of Medicine and suffering from ALD underwent through medical examination and then the severity of ALD was determined by radiological and biochemical findings. Patients who fulfilled the inclusion and exclusion criteria were enrolled in the study if they are willing to give written informed consent. Results: A total number of 30 male patients were studied, 17 patients had cirrhosis and 9 had fatty liver. Ascites was most common manifestation in both cirrhosis and fatty liver; followed by splenomegaly and portal hypertension in cirrhosis, whereas common bile duct dilatation was seen more in fatty liver. There were derangements in liver function tests associated with different stages of alcoholic liver disease but this was not statistically significant. There seem to be no statistically significant (p>0.05) correlation with the various biochemical parameters. Conclusions: Though a large number of radiological and biochemical changes are seen in cirrhosis and fatty liver, there seems to be no relation between these two. However the most common manifestation in both these conditions is ascites. *Corresponding author: Dr Prithpal S Matreja, Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Gian Sagar Medical College and Hospital, Village Ram Nagar, Tehsil Rajpura, District Patiala, Punjab 140601 India Phone: +91-9855001847, Fax No.: +91-1762-520024 E-mail: [email protected] Original Article