Author information
1 Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Diseases, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, 41 Mall Road, Burlington, MA 01805, USA.
2 Division of Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Diseases, Lahey Hospital and Medical Center, 41 Mall Road, Burlington, MA 01805, USA; Tufts Medical School, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA. Electronic address: fredric.d.gordon@lahey.org.
Abstract
The presence of hepatic encephalopathy is often associated with worse clinical outcomes and increased mortality. Even subclinical hepatic encephalopathy has clinical impacts on daily life and has been linked to increased falls, motor vehicle accidents, and hospitalizations. The presence and degree of hepatic encephalopathy can also affect survival outcomes in cirrhosis, acute liver failure, and liver transplant recipients. Patients may have improved clinical outcomes after treatment of hepatic encephalopathy, but the long-term impact of treatment on prognosis is unclear.