Management of covert hepatic encephalopathy

Kevin D Mullen; Ravi K Prakash

doi:10.1016/j.cld.2011.12.006

Management of covert hepatic encephalopathy

Clin Liver Dis. 2012 Feb;16(1):91-3. doi: 10.1016/j.cld.2011.12.006. Epub 2012 Jan 13.

Authors

Kevin D Mullen¹, Ravi K Prakash

Affiliation

¹ Division of Gastroenterology, MetroHealth Medical Center, Case Western Reserve University, 2500 MetroHealth Drive, Cleveland, OH 44109, USA. kevin.mullen@case.edu

PMID: 22321467
DOI: 10.1016/j.cld.2011.12.006

Abstract

Employability, driving capacity, and many domains of health-related quality of life are reduced in patients with minimal hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Moreover, once minimal HE is identified, more than 50% of patients develop overt HE within 30 months. Now that minimal HE has been shown to be associated with consequences, more studies are needed to assess the cost effectiveness to treat it. This article discusses the issues regarding diagnosis and management of minimal HE, now called "Covert HE."

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Disease Management
Hepatic Encephalopathy / diagnosis*
Hepatic Encephalopathy / therapy*
Humans
Psychometrics / methods
Quality of Life