What are the first and key tests that must be done after diagnosing cirrhosis?
Complete evaluation is needed to assess the stage of the illness after a diagnosis of cirrhosis. The diagnosis of cirrhosis alone is not enough to plan the treatment and give appropriate care. The reason I am writing this article, is that I get a lot of patients from nearby countries who send a vague scan result and expect me to give an opinion. I am also seeing patients from our own country that have patchy work up that does not permit me to give appropriate care.
Like every illness, if you are armed with appropriate data, you can benefit from treatment in every aspect and live a longer life despite your diagnosis of cirrhosis.
Let me guide you step by step in this process.
Why did you get cirrhosis? The first step in the process is to find out why the patient developed cirrhosis. The most common cause we are seeing now in Bangalore and Chennai is fatty liver leading to cirrhosis, followed by use of alcohol. Both these problems do not need any tests. It is always good to test for all these problems in spite of obvious causes and it is surprising how many of our presumptions can go wrong. It is good to get these tests done right after the first consultation.
What are the complications of cirrhosis that you have? Given below is a list of the major complications in cirrhosis. When you are diagnosed with cirrhosis, your doctor must go through all the tests to find the complication and treat it appropriately.
The next set of tests is to look for the common complications in liver disease. Without transplantation, we can never cure cirrhosis and most of the treatment in cirrhosis is aimed at reducing the impact of these complications and gaining more days to live.
Our team of liver specialists get these tests done at the first diagnosis it self. It saves a lot of time and when you know the entire list of complications, it allows us to get the patient stabilised quickly and prevents untimely deaths from complications.
The last diagnostic test is a CT scan to look for liver cancer. It is a special test that needs some care and in Chennai, we found that Triphasic CT scan is done only in very few centers and we are discovering that the story is the same in Bangalore as well.
How severe is my liver disease? The next set of tests is to find out the severity of the disease. It includes liver function tests, creatinine, blood coagulation tests. These tests are used to calculate the MELD score.
Complete and correct evaluation of cirrhosis is the first step to effective management of the disease. Once this step is done well, decision making is made easier.
Like every illness, if you are armed with appropriate data, you can benefit from treatment in every aspect and live a longer life despite your diagnosis of cirrhosis.
Let me guide you step by step in this process.
Why did you get cirrhosis? The first step in the process is to find out why the patient developed cirrhosis. The most common cause we are seeing now in Bangalore and Chennai is fatty liver leading to cirrhosis, followed by use of alcohol. Both these problems do not need any tests. It is always good to test for all these problems in spite of obvious causes and it is surprising how many of our presumptions can go wrong. It is good to get these tests done right after the first consultation.
What are the complications of cirrhosis that you have? Given below is a list of the major complications in cirrhosis. When you are diagnosed with cirrhosis, your doctor must go through all the tests to find the complication and treat it appropriately.
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| Look at the list and understand which complications have developed for you. This will help you plan your treatment as complications can increase the risk of death. |
Our team of liver specialists get these tests done at the first diagnosis it self. It saves a lot of time and when you know the entire list of complications, it allows us to get the patient stabilised quickly and prevents untimely deaths from complications.
 |
| It is good for you to have all these tests done at one go, so that all the aspects of the disease are studied and appropriate treatment plans made. |
The last diagnostic test is a CT scan to look for liver cancer. It is a special test that needs some care and in Chennai, we found that Triphasic CT scan is done only in very few centers and we are discovering that the story is the same in Bangalore as well.
How severe is my liver disease? The next set of tests is to find out the severity of the disease. It includes liver function tests, creatinine, blood coagulation tests. These tests are used to calculate the MELD score.
Complete and correct evaluation of cirrhosis is the first step to effective management of the disease. Once this step is done well, decision making is made easier.
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