Distribution and Determinants of Etiologies and Complications of Chronic Liver Diseases Among Patients at a Tertiary Hospital in a Lower Economic Region of Ghana

Abstract

There is dearth of data on the epidemiology of chronic liver diseases (CLDs) in northern Ghana. To this extent, we intended to investigate the distribution and determinants of the etiologies and complications of CLDs at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, a referral hospital of northern Ghana. The medical records of patients with CLDs admitted at the medical ward of Tamale Teaching Hospital from June to December 2019 were reviewed in a retrospective cross-sectional study. Out of 180 patients reviewed, 130 (72.2%) were males; the age range was 18-86 years, with a mean age of 41 43 years. Etiologies of CLDs comprised hepatis B viral infection (53.3%), hepatitis C viral infection (21.7%), unknown (9.4%), hepatocellular carcinoma (8.9%), and alcoholic liver disease (6.7%). Among the complications of CLDs; cirrhosis (71.1%), hypoalbuminemia (59.4%), ascites (58.3%) and jaundice (52.2%) occurred in more than half of the patients. Age (p=<0.001), education (p=0.005) and intake of herbal medicine (p=0.001) were associated with the etiologies of CLDs. There was a significant association between the etiologies of CLDs and complications; cirrhosis (p=<0.001), hypoalbuminemia (p=0.003), ascites (p=<0.001), and jaundice (p=0.009). Hepatitis B and hepatitis C viral infections were the main etiologies of CLDs. Young/middle age, noneducation and intake of herbal medicine were risk factors for the main etiologies of CLDs. Cirrhosis, hypoalbuminemia, ascites, and jaundice were the major complications of CLDs. Chronic hepatitis B and C viral infections were risk factors for developing the major complications of CLDs. Implementation of integrated public health strategies targeted at risk groups (young/middle age adults, illiterates, consumers of herbal medicine, patients with hepatitis B and C viral infections) may help curtail the burden of CLDs in northern Ghana.

Portal vein congestion index in patients with and without chronic liver disease

“…The number of CLD patients with ALD was significantly higher than those diagnosed with CVH. This is at variance with studies which found chronic viral hepatitis B to be the most common cause of CLD (29)(30)(31) . The higher prevalence of ALD in this study was probably due to the high rate of alcohol consumption (locally brewed gin called 'ogogoro' or 'kai-kai') in our region (32) .…”

Effect of Doxorubicin and Cisplatin on Alpha-fetoprotein levels in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell lines

“…These findings showed that cisplatin has a considerable cytotoxic effect on the proliferation of HepG-2 cells. Furthermore, morphological variations were seen in HepG-2 cells treated with cisplatin, as shown in Figures (2) and (3), when compared to doxorubicin and DMSO, after treatment for 48 hours with 1.56 to 12.5 μg of doxorubicin did not cause notable changes in morphology or cell number. Furthermore, treatment with 25-50 μg of cisplatin resulted in significant morphological alterations and notably suppression.…”

“…Hepatocellular carcinoma is the most prevalent form of primary liver cancer [1]. Hepatocellular carcinoma is generally always found in people with chronic liver disorders, such as cirrhosis-related hepatitis B or C infection [2]. Patients with chronic liver illness are more likely to develop hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common kind of liver cancer.…”