A cross sectional study of clinicopathological association in chronic liver disease

Abstract

Introduction: Chronic liver disease is a liver disorder of varying causes and severity with variable clinical, biochemical and histological findings with severity lasting for 6 months or more. Many patients are asymptomatic and in others, symptoms may be mild or intermittent. In some patients, symptoms donot develop and the diagnosis is not made until the disease progresses to cirrhosis. Materials and Methods: The present study was a cross-sectional study that included analysis of clinicopathological data of 80 patients’ with clinically suspected chronic liver disease who were admitted to the Department of General Medicine, Viswabharathi Medical College and General Hospital, Kurnool between March 2020 and February 2021. A convenient sample of 80 was taken according to the total number of patients admitted to the medical wards. Results: Total number of patients (N = 80) of suspected chronic liver disease were included in the study in which 50 were males (62.5 %) and 30 were females (37.5 %), mean age was 48.48 years with a standard deviation of 11.03 years ranging from 26-70 years. Most of them (72 cases) were found in the age group of 30 - 69 years, majority of them (24) were in the age group of 50-59 years. Conclusion: Clinical diagnosis of chronic liver disease should be confirmed with histopathological examination. In appropriate clinical settings, the clinical diagnosis of chronic liver disease made by experts is fairly associated with histopathological diagnosis. Liver biopsy is a safe procedure that aids in establishing the diagnosis and helps in the appropriate management of a chronic liver disease.