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• Diagnosis and Tests
• Treatments and Therapies

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• Related Issues
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• Genetics

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Summary

Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. Scar tissue forms because of injury or long-term disease. Scar tissue cannot do what healthy liver tissue does - make protein, help fight infections, clean the blood, help digest food and store energy. Cirrhosis can lead to :

• Easy bruising or bleeding, or nosebleeds
• Swelling of the abdomen or legs
• Extra sensitivity to medicines
• High blood pressure in the vein entering the liver
• Enlarged veins called varices in the esophagus and stomach. Varices can bleed suddenly.
• Kidney failure
• Jaundice
• Severe itching
• Gallstones

A small number of people with cirrhosis get liver cancer.

Your doctor will diagnose cirrhosis with blood tests, imaging tests, or a biopsy.

Cirrhosis has many causes. In the United States, the most common causes are chronic alcoholism and hepatitis. Nothing will make the scar tissue disappear, but treating the cause can keep it from getting worse. If too much scar tissue forms, you may need to consider a liver transplant.

NIH: National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Start Here

• Cirrhosis (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Cirrhosis: A Patient's Guide (Department of Veterans Affairs)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Abdominal and Pelvic CT (Computed Tomography) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Abdominal Ultrasound (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Body MRI (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Elastography (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• Liver Biopsy (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• Liver Function Tests (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• MRCP (MR Cholangiopancreatography) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish
• Smooth Muscle Antibody (SMA) Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Milk Thistle (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
• Transjugular Intrahepatic Portosystemic Shunt (TIPS) (American College of Radiology; Radiological Society of North America) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Eating Tips for People with Cirrhosis (Department of Veterans Affairs)

Related Issues

• Alcohol and Cirrhosis (Department of Veterans Affairs)
• Ascites: A Common Problem in People with Cirrhosis (American College of Gastroenterology)
• Cirrhosis and Portal Hypertension (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Esophageal Varices (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and NASH (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Primary Biliary Cholangitis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Primary Biliary Cholangitis (Primary Biliary Cirrhosis) (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) Also in Spanish
• What Is Decompensated Cirrhosis? (Department of Veterans Affairs)

Genetics

• Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Cryptogenic cirrhosis: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Statistics and Research

• FastStats: Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis (National Center for Health Statistics)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Liver Cirrhosis (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Noninvasive Evaluation of Prolonged-Release Pirfenidone in Compensated Liver Cirrhosis. ODISEA Study,...
• Article: Eradication of Helicobacter pylori that contributes to hepatogenic ulcer is beneficial...
• Article: Pien Tze Huang plus entecavir improves hepatic fibrosis in Chinese patients...
• Cirrhosis -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• American Liver Foundation
• National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Patient Handouts

• Abdominal tap (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Ascites (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cirrhosis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Cirrhosis - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Loss of brain function - liver disease (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish