Alcoholic Liver Disease

Abstract

The potentially fatal alcoholic liver diseases are alcoholic hepatitis and Laennec's cirrhosis. Recent work suggests that the former represents the acute phase of cirrhosis and precedes the cirrhotic lesion. Thus, an important element in prevention of Laennec's cirrhosis is early recognition of an initial episode of alcoholic hepatitis. Any patient with a history of heavy alcohol intake who shows the clinical and laboratory features of alcoholic hepatitis is a candidate for liver biopsy.