What is cirrhosis? Cirrhosis is a common chronic liver disease caused by long-term damage to the liver from different etiologies. It has chronic, progressive, diffuse hepatocyte degeneration, necrosis, regeneration, extensive fibrous tissue proliferation, formation of pseudobullets, and formation of irreversible changes in the structure of the liver. A. Causes 1, viral hepatitis: viral hepatitis, especially chronic hepatitis B and C, of which hepatitis B is the most common, is the main factor causing portal cirrhosis, and is the most important cause in China; 2, alcoholism: long-term heavy alcohol abuse, is one of the factors causing cirrhosis, is the most important cause abroad; 3, biliary stasis: extrahepatic bile duct obstruction or intrahepatic biliary stasis when high concentrations of bilirubin The bile stasis in the liver is called primary biliary cirrhosis, and the obstruction of extrahepatic bile ducts is called secondary biliary cirrhosis; 4, schistosomiasis: schistosomiasis can cause significant portal hypertension due to the proliferation of connective tissue stimulated by the eggs in the sink area, which can cause schistosomiasis liver fibrosis. 5, circulatory disorders: chronic congestive heart failure, chronic constrictive pericarditis can cause long-term stasis and hypoxia in the liver, causing hepatocyte necrosis and fibrosis, called stasis cirrhosis, also known as cardiogenic cirrhosis. In addition, malnutrition, industrial toxins or drugs can also cause cirrhosis, and of course, there is also cirrhosis of unknown origin. Clinical manifestations 1. Compensated stage: there may be mild weakness, abdominal distension, mildly large liver and spleen, mild jaundice, liver palm and spider nevus. 2.Decompensated stage: (1) Systemic symptoms such as weakness, emaciation, depression, dark complexion, lower limb edema, irregular low fever, etc. (2) Gastrointestinal symptoms such as loss of appetite, abdominal distension, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc. (3) Bleeding tendency and anemia gingival bleeding, epistaxis, skin mucous membrane bleeding, purpura, anemia. Hemorrhage and anemia are caused by reduced synthesis of coagulation factors and hypersplenism. (4) Endocrine disorders spider nevus, liver palm, skin pigmentation, menstrual disorders in women, gynecomastia, and parotid enlargement. (5) Hypoproteinemia with bilateral lower limb edema, oliguria, pneumoperitoneum, etc. (6) Portal hypertension splenomegaly, hypersplenism, establishment of portal collateral circulation, esophagogastric fundic varices, abdominal wall varices. Complications 1.Acute upper gastrointestinal bleeding, bleeding is mostly caused by ruptured esophagogastric fundic varices bleeding, partly because of peptic ulcer, acute gastric mucosal lesions; 2.Hepatic encephalopathy, mainly some toxic products in the intestine and body that can affect neurological activity, not detoxified and cleared by the liver, enter the brain through the blood-brain barrier via blood circulation, resulting in brain dysfunction, mainly manifested as neurological The low resistance of cirrhotic patients and the establishment of collateral circulation between portal veins increase the chance of intestinal pathogenic microorganisms entering the body, so it is easy to have various infections. The diagnosis of early cirrhosis is difficult. For patients with viral hepatitis and long-term alcohol consumption, they must be closely followed up and observed, and liver ultrasound or CT should be checked regularly, and liver biopsy should be performed if necessary for early diagnosis. For cirrhosis in the stage of liver function loss, there are clinical manifestations of liver function impairment and portal hypertension, and the diagnosis can be clearly made with laboratory and color ultrasound and CT. V. Treatment General treatment: actively treat the cause of the disease, pay attention to rest, avoid excessive physical labor, diet should be high in calories, high protein, adequate amount of vitamins, low fat and easy to digest food. Drug therapy: hepatocyte protection therapy, including promotion of bile excretion level to protect hepatocytes, vitamin class; anti-liver fibrosis drugs; ascites treatment: restrict water and sodium intake, diuresis, increase plasma colloid osmotic pressure, release ascites, etc. Treatment of complications: 1. upper gastrointestinal bleeding: pharmacological hemostasis, balloon compression hemostasis, endoscopic hemostasis, percutaneous transjugular vein hepatic puncture intrahepatic portal shunt, surgical hemostasis. 2. hepatic encephalopathy: elimination of causative factors, reduction of intestinal toxin production and absorption, drugs to reduce blood ammonia, etc. Six, prevention and care: prevention and treatment of viral hepatitis is the key to prevent this disease in China. Preventive vaccination against viral hepatitis B and prevention of the spread of blood-borne hepatitis virus are the most important measures. In addition, a reasonable diet, good lifestyle, careful use of hepatotoxic drugs, regular medical checkups are important measures to prevent this disease.