Cirrhosis is a serious public health problem all over the world that affects almost one in 50 adults and accounts for over 50,000 deaths every year.
Liver Cirrhosis and Fatality
During early stages, symptoms of cirrhosis may not be as evident. However, as liver damage grows, symptoms may include nausea, appetite loss, weakness and fatigue, and weight and muscle mass loss.
Cirrhosis itself involves permanent liver scarring that cannot be reversed. Though the liver has healing capacities, the stage of cirrhosis involves having insufficient healthy cells for healing. However, it is possible to slow down progression, depending on the cause, treatibility, and treatment response.
As time passes, cirrhosis could lead to long-lasting and usually irreversible liver failure. This could end up being fatal, though it is not typically considered sudden.
Though liver failure tends to take place gradually, as in chronic liver disease, it is also possible for sudden liver failure, or acute liver failure, to take place. Without prompt and necessary medical intervention, death may result.
Liver Failure
Liver failure happens when a huge chunk of the liver ends up damaged and can no longer work well. It may lead to other problems such as blood flow impairment through the liver and preventing the processing of hormones, drugs, natural toxins, and nutrients, which could lead to a buildup in the blood.
The timeline of the development of liver failure varies between types. Both chronic and acute liver failure develop differently. For chronic liver failure, the main stages involved are inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and end-stage liver failure.
During the first stage of chronic liver disease, the liver ends up getting inflamed and swollen as a response to injury, and then it tries to fix the damage during the second stage. This results in scars that can reduce liver function. When these scars get worse and keep on reducing liver function, the damage can no longer be reversed. This is what the cirrhosis stage is all about. In the final stage, the major complications tend to surface. This often results in death.
For acute liver failure, also called fulminant hepatic failure, development only takes days or weeks. It is more rare compared to chronic liver disease. Acute liver failure typically occurs among those without any pre-existing liver conditions. The condition is considered a medical emergency that could be life-threatening if necessary medical treatment is not immediately given.
There are also different causes and factors that affect the development of liver failure, both chronic and acute. Some chronic liver failure causes include too much alcohol consumption, genetic conditions, chronic hepatitis infections, disorders of the bile duct, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease,
On the other hand, acute liver failure can be caused by medical conditions, drug-induced liver injuries that are acute, heat strokes, toxin ingestion, and septic shocks.
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