Home > Medical Reference > Patient Education

Ask the Expert

Get answers to your Liver Cancer questions.

Note: This is for informational purposes only. Doctors cannot provide a diagnosis or individual treatment advice via e-mail. Please consult your physician about your specific health care concerns.

Cirrhosis - Symptoms

Description

An in-depth report on the causes, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of cirrhosis.

Symptoms:

Cirrhosis is divided into stages: Compensated and decompensated.

Compensated cirrhosis means that the body still functions fairly well despite scarring of the liver. Many people with compensated cirrhosis experience few or no symptoms.
Decompensated cirrhosis means that the severe scarring of the liver has damaged and disrupted essential body functions. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis develop many serious and life-threatening symptoms and complications.

Early symptoms of compensated cirrhosis may include:

Fatigue and loss of energy
Loss of appetite and weight loss
Nausea or abdominal pain
Spider angiomas may develop on the skin. These are pinhead-sized red spots from which tiny blood vessels radiate.

As cirrhosis progresses to a decompensated stage, patients may develop the following symptoms:

Fluid buildup in the legs and feet (edema) and in the abdomen (ascites). (Ascites is associated with portal hypertension, which is described in the Complications section of this report.)
Jaundice. This yellowish cast to the skin and eyes occurs because the liver cannot process bilirubin for elimination from the body.

Jaundice is a condition produced when excess amounts of bilirubin circulating in the bloodstream dissolve in the subcutaneous fat (the layer of fat just beneath the skin), causing a yellowish appearance of the skin and the whites of the eyes. With the exception of normal newborn jaundice in the first week of life, all other jaundice indicates overload or damage to the liver, or inability to move bilirubin from the liver through the biliary tract to the gut.

Itching. Itching (pruritus) develops from buildup of bile products.
The palms of the hands may be reddish and blotchy, a condition known as palmar erythema
In men, swelling of breasts or shrinkage of the testicles may occur.
Easy bruising and excessive bleeding may occur.

Resources

www2.niddk.nih.gov -- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
www.aasld.org -- American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases
www.liverfoundation.org -- American Liver Foundation
www.gastro.org -- American Gastrointestinal Association
www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis -- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hepatitis
www.hepfi.org -- Hepatitis Foundation International
www.organdonor.org -- National Transplant Society
www.unos.org -- United Network for Organ Sharing
www.organdonor.gov -- US government organ donor site

References

Berg CL, Gillespie BW, Merion RM, Brown RS Jr, Abecassis MM, Trotter JF, et al Improvement in survival associated with adult-to-adult living donor liver transplantation. Gastroenterology. 2007 Dec;133(6):1806-13. Epub 2007 Sep 14.

Brown RS Jr. Live donors in liver transplantation. Gastroenterology. 2008 May;134(6):1802-13.

Garcia-Tsao G, Sanyal AJ, Grace ND, Carey WD; Practice Guidelines Committee ofAmerican Association for Study of Liver Diseases; Practice Parameters Committee of American College of Gastroenterology. Prevention and management of gastroesophageal varices and variceal hemorrhage in cirrhosis. Am J Gastroenterol. 2007 Sep;102(9):2086-102.

Gonzalez R, Zamora J, Gomez-Camarero J, Molinero LM, Bañares R, Albillos A. Meta-analysis: Combination endoscopic and drug therapy to prevent variceal rebleeding in cirrhosis. Ann Intern Med. 2008 Jul 15;149(2):109-22.

Heidelbaugh JJ, Bruderly M. Cirrhosis and chronic liver failure: part I. Diagnosis and evaluation. Am Fam Physician. 2006 Sep 1;74(5):756-62.

Heidelbaugh JJ, Sherbondy M. Cirrhosis and chronic liver failure: part II. Complications and treatment. Am Fam Physician. 2006 Sep 1;74(5):767-76.

Lindor K. Ursodeoxycholic acid for the treatment of primary biliary cirrhosis. N Engl J Med. 2007 Oct 11;357(15):1524-9.

Martín-Llahí M, Pépin MN, Guevara M, Díaz F, Torre A, Monescillo A, et al. Terlipressin and albumin vs albumin in patients with cirrhosis and hepatorenal syndrome: a randomized study. Gastroenterology. 2008 May;134(5):1352-9. Epub 2008 Feb 14.

O'Leary JG, Lepe R, Davis GL. Indications for liver transplantation. Gastroenterology. 2008 May;134(6):1764-76.

Parikh S, Hyman D. Hepatocellular cancer: a guide for the internist. Am J Med. 2007 Mar;120(3):194-202.

Prasad S, Dhiman RK, Duseja A, Chawla YK, Sharma A, Agarwal R. Lactulose improves cognitive functions and health-related quality of life inpatients with cirrhosis who have minimal hepatic encephalopathy. Hepatology. 2007 Mar;45(3):549-59.

Said A, Lucey MR. Liver transplantation: an update 2008. Curr Opin Gastroenterol. 2008 May;24(3):339-45.

Salerno F, Cammà C, Enea M, Rössle M, Wong F. Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt for refractory ascites: a meta-analysis of individual patient data. Gastroenterology. 2007 Sep;133(3):825-34. Epub 2007 Jun 20.

Schuppan D, Afdhal NH. Liver cirrhosis. Lancet. 2008 Mar 8;371(9615):838-51.

Torres DM, Harrison SA. Diagnosis and therapy of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Gastroenterology. 2008 May;134(6):1682-98.

Reviewed last on: 12/5/2008
Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed medical professional should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. © 1997- A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

Connect with UMMC

© 2011 University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). All rights reserved.
UMMC is a member of the University of Maryland Medical System,
22 S. Greene Street, Baltimore, MD 21201. TDD: 1-800-735-2258 or 1.866.408.6885