What Causes Abdominal Distention In A Person With Liver Cirrhosis?

Posted on Mon, 6 Apr 2015

Question: Thank you, I am 64 year old male with newly diagnosed cirrosous of the liver. I have been out of the hospital for three days after being in for 3 days. I have a distended stomach and it feels so stretched out that you could bounce a quarter off it. I am on a controlled diet, no medications. When I attempt
to move about physically my belly sticks way out (very uncomfortable) BMs normal but dark (I am taking iron per doctor). Everything else seems to have improved except this bloated awkwardness and
fatigue while I rest and build up my red blood cells. Comments??
What is this liver rating number I have been told about. I understand that
it is an indicator as to how serious a condition the liver is in?

I have had no liver biopsy or other surgical procedure. I had heart surgery
in 2008 for cardiovascular disease. I had a similar incident 1 year ago brought on
by too may Ibuprofin. Lost 4 pints of blood then stabilized, same as what happened 7 days ago.

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ali Rauf (2 hours later)

Brief Answer:
Fluid in abdominal cavity needs to be ruled out

Detailed Answer:
Hello

My name is Dr Muhammad Ali Rauf & i will look into your problem.

I have gone through your query and would try to help you in the best possible way. In patients of liver cirrhosis we need to rule out ascites on the top of the list. Ascites is the collection of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Liver pathology causes lethargy, fatigue, weakness & anorexia. I would suggest you to get ultrasound abdomen done (repeat if done earlier) to check the status of ascites and abdominal viscera. Take the report to a gastroenterologist (specifically) as he is specialized in dealing with such pathologies. He might advise some more investigations like LFTs, clotting profile to check the complete status of liver before starting any particular treatment. Do not take unnecessary medicines from local doctors. You need treatment from consultant doctor to prevent progression of disease.

Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help if not then don't forget to close the discussion and rate it.
Wishing you good health !!

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Muhammad Ali Rauf (13 hours later)

What is your opinion on the relevancy of the the Child_Pugh rating scale in cases like this?

Answered by Dr. Muhammad Ali Rauf (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Child-Pugh score is used to check the prognosis

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Thank you for the followup query.

Child-Pugh score is used to check the prognosis of CLD(chronic liver disease). There are few parameters which help to calculate the score.Those parameters include:

1. Total Bilirubin Levels
2. S/Albumin level
3. Clotting Profile (PT & INR)
4. Amount of ascites (can be ascertained on USG abdomen)
5. Hepatic Encephalopathy

Score of 5-6(class-A) means one year survival rate of 100% AND two year survival rate of 85%. To calculate your score we need labs of above mentioned tests (1-3) & USG Abd. to check ascites. You can get back to me with the results and we can check the prognosis.

Hope I have answered your query. If you have any further questions I will be happy to help if not then don't forget to close the discussion and rate it.
Wishing you good health !!

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar