Demographic Profile and Clinical Spectrum of Alcoholic Liver Disease among Males in Pakistan
Aifa Arshad, Muhammad Aslam Shaikh, Ahmad Bin Zaheer, Imran Joher, Aamir Hussain
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ABSTRACT
Introduction: Alcohol is the most
common substance abused in western world. Males tend to have more severe liver
disease because of heavy and regular drinking.
Methods: Adult patients, 16
years of age and older, diagnosed with ALD within 1 year, were included in the
study. Liver disease from other causes was excluded. Demographic profiles,
clinical features, laboratory and endoscopic findings of the patients,
Child-Turcotte-Pugh (CTP), Model End Stage Liver Disease (MELD) were recorded.
Results: A total of 104
patients with ALD who met the inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study.
The mean age of the patients enrolled in the study was 49.2 years (SD = 13.1).
Most of the patients were in the 30-65 age group. The four most common clinical
symptoms in patients were abdominal distension (n = 89, 85.6%), bilateral lower
limb edema (n = 78, 75%), jaundice (n = 39, 37.5%) and anorexia (n = 41,
39.4%). Of 104 patients, 96 (92.3%) had cirrhosis, 9 (8.7%) had fatty liver and
alcoholic hepatitis. Of 94 patients with
ALD, 49(52.1%) had CTP grade C and 83 (88.3%) had MELD score ≥ 16.
Conclusions: ALD was mainly
observed in young patients. The most common clinical symptoms were abdominal
distension, bilateral oedema of the lower limbs, jaundice and anorexia. Among
patients with cirrhosis of the liver, the majority of patients were CTP class C
and obtained a MELD score ≥16.
Keywords: Alcoholic liver
disease, clinical profile, demographic profile.