In normal individuals, the inferior border of the liver can often be palpated at or slightly below the edge of the right costal arch. If the patient’s liver can be palpated, the upper border of the liver should be determined by percussion to rule out a prolapsed liver condition. In general, patients with viral hepatitis can often have enlarged livers, but many patients with severe hepatitis and cirrhosis will instead have shrunken livers.
Of course, not all patients with liver enlargement are caused by viral hepatitis, and it is important to root out detailed clinical information and analyze it carefully to clarify its true etiology. For example, 1, patients with viral hepatitis are often accompanied by vague pain in the liver, while liver abscesses and liver cancer often involve severe pain in the liver area out of the liver envelope; 2, painful liver enlargement and elevated blood eosinophils should be considered parasitic infections such as acute schistosomiasis and Toxoplasma gondii; 3, amoebic liver abscesses often have a history of amoebic enteritis; the occurrence of drug-related hepatitis will have a clear history of taking drugs such as liver damage.
Therefore, a large liver is recommended to the hospital for relevant laboratory tests to clarify the diagnosis. Liver ultrasound is useful for the diagnosis of liver tumors, liver abscesses, liver encapsulation, liver cysts, and other occupational liver diseases, while abdominal CT can obtain pictures of different layers of the liver with clearer images, and liver puncture can be performed to clarify some difficult cases if necessary.