Ischemic hepatitis
You don't need to be Editor-In-Chief to add or edit content to WikiDoc. You can begin to add to or edit text on this WikiDoc page by clicking on the edit button at the top of this page. Next enter or edit the information that you would like to appear here. Once you are done editing, scroll down and click the Save page button at the bottom of the page.
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1] Phone:617-525-6884
Please Take Over This Page and Apply to be Editor-In-Chief for this topic: There can be one or more than one Editor-In-Chief. You may also apply to be an Associate Editor-In-Chief of one of the subtopics below. Please mail us [2] to indicate your interest in serving either as an Editor-In-Chief of the entire topic or as an Associate Editor-In-Chief for a subtopic. Please be sure to attach your CV and or biographical sketch.
Overview
Ischemic hepatitis (also known as shock liver) is a condition of decreased blood supply to the liver resulting in injury to liver cells (hepatocytes), which occurs in a diffuse fashion.
The decreased blood flow (perfusion) to the liver is usually due to shock or low blood pressure. However, local causes involving the hepatic artery that supplies oxygen to the liver, such as sickle cell crisis and thrombosis of the hepatic artery, can also cause ischemic hepatitis. Patients with ischemic hepatitis are usually very ill.
Blood testing usually shows high levels of the liver transaminase enzymes, AST and ALT, which may exceed 1000 U/L. People who develop ischemic hepatitis may have pain in the right upper part of the abdomen, but they usually feel more unwell because of the serious reason that they developed the ischemia, than due to the ischemic hepatitis itself. Jaundice can occur, but is rare and transient, as is actual loss of function of the liver.
Ischemic hepatitis is related to another condition called congestive hepatopathy or nutmeg liver, which is a backflow condition due to poor drainage of the liver, usually due to heart failure. As a result, the two entities can co-exist.
Acknowledgement and Attribution Regarding Sources of Content
Some of the initial content on this page may be incorporated in part from copyleft sources in the public domain including wikis such as Wikipedia and AskDrWiki. Drug information for patients came from the The National Library of Medicine. Infectious disease information may have come from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Differential Diagnoses are drawn from clinicians as well as an amalgamation of 3 sources: 1.The Disease Database; 2. Kahan, Scott, Smith, Ellen G. In A Page: Signs and Symptoms. Malden, Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishing, 2004:3; 3. Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:7 .
