Understanding Chronic Liver Disease Diagnoses

Did you know that 3.9 million people in the United States have Chronic Liver Disease? If either you or a family member thinks that you may have this disease, you, like most people, may not know much about it. Luckily, here at Concorde Gastroenterology, we have a few bits of helpful information to make you feel more informed. Let’s take a closer look.

What Is Chronic Liver Disease?

Chronic liver disease consists of several liver pathologies including chronic hepatitis or inflammation of the liver, liver cirrhosis, and a condition called hepatocellular carcinoma. And, all of these diseases can typically be defined by the destruction and regeneration of liver parenchyma.

How Are the Symptoms of Liver Disease?

Just like with any disease, symptoms of Liver Disease vary from patient to patients. However, common symptoms of Liver Disease include:

Anaemia

Testicular atrophy

Angiomata

Nail Clubbing

Feminising Hair distribution

Small Liver

Caput Medusae

Nail Clubbing

Gynecomastia

How Is Liver Disease Diagnosed?

Typically, we can tell if you have a problem with your liver through a simple blood test to check for things like elevated liver enzymes.

If you do have elevated liver enzymes, it used to be that the next step was a liver biopsy, and even repeat biopsies in many instances. Luckily, with advancements in technology, we at Concorde Gastroenterology can offer patients an alternative with a test called Fibroscan.

During a 15-20 minutes scan, we will be able to use FibroScan to test for the stiffness of a patient’s liver to properly diagnose you. And, because this test is so accurate, you shouldn’t have to worry about repeat examinations.