Neuropsychological Tools in Hepatology for the Clinician
Neuropsychological Tools in Hepatology for the Clinician
Neuropsychological assessment has three main applications in clinical hepatology: (i) to detect, grade and monitor liver failure-related cognitive alterations in end-stage liver disease (hepatic encephalopathy), (ii) to substantiate complaints of attention or concentration difficulties in patients with non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C viral infection, and (iii) to screen patients who are being considered for liver transplantation for early signs of dementia. However, there is limited agreement on how cognitive assessment should be conducted in these patients, and how results should be interpreted and used to implement clinical decisions. In this review, we summarize the available literature on neuropsychological dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis and with chronic hepatitis C viral infection and provide some guidance on how to utilize neuropsychological assessment in practice.
Patients with end-stage liver disease have long been known to exhibit cognitive deficits in a variety of forms, which have been termed hepatic encephalopathy (HE). This spectrum ranges from minimal impairment, only detected on neuropsychological assessment (so called 'minimal hepatic encephalopathy' [MHE] – formerly labelled 'subclinical'), through to overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE), which can manifest as mild confusion and behavioural change through to deep coma. More recently, it has become apparent that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection complain of a variety of neuropsychiatric sequela including confusion ('brain fog'), anxiety and depression, in the absence of significant liver disease. Most studies on these issues have been performed by hepatologists who have acted as amateur psychologists. In this review, we discuss some of the pitfalls of neuropsychological assessment and put the published studies on HE and non-cirrhotic chronic HCV infection into context.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Neuropsychological assessment has three main applications in clinical hepatology: (i) to detect, grade and monitor liver failure-related cognitive alterations in end-stage liver disease (hepatic encephalopathy), (ii) to substantiate complaints of attention or concentration difficulties in patients with non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis C viral infection, and (iii) to screen patients who are being considered for liver transplantation for early signs of dementia. However, there is limited agreement on how cognitive assessment should be conducted in these patients, and how results should be interpreted and used to implement clinical decisions. In this review, we summarize the available literature on neuropsychological dysfunction in patients with cirrhosis and with chronic hepatitis C viral infection and provide some guidance on how to utilize neuropsychological assessment in practice.
Introduction
Patients with end-stage liver disease have long been known to exhibit cognitive deficits in a variety of forms, which have been termed hepatic encephalopathy (HE). This spectrum ranges from minimal impairment, only detected on neuropsychological assessment (so called 'minimal hepatic encephalopathy' [MHE] – formerly labelled 'subclinical'), through to overt hepatic encephalopathy (OHE), which can manifest as mild confusion and behavioural change through to deep coma. More recently, it has become apparent that patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection complain of a variety of neuropsychiatric sequela including confusion ('brain fog'), anxiety and depression, in the absence of significant liver disease. Most studies on these issues have been performed by hepatologists who have acted as amateur psychologists. In this review, we discuss some of the pitfalls of neuropsychological assessment and put the published studies on HE and non-cirrhotic chronic HCV infection into context.
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