Hepatorenal syndrome is a life-threatening medical condition that consists of rapid deterioration in kidney function in individuals with cirrhosis or fulminant liver failure. HRS is usually fatal unless a liver transplant is performed, although various treatments, such as dialysis, can prevent advancement of the condition. While awaiting transplantation, people with HRS often receive other treatments that improve the abnormalities in blood vessel tone.
About Hepatorenal syndrome in brief
Hepatorenal syndrome is a life-threatening medical condition that consists of rapid deterioration in kidney function in individuals with cirrhosis or fulminant liver failure. HRS is usually fatal unless a liver transplant is performed, although various treatments, such as dialysis, can prevent advancement of the condition. The only long-term treatment option for the condition is liver transplantation. While awaiting transplantation, people with HRS often receive other treatments that improve the abnormalities in blood vessel tone, including supportive care with medications, or the insertion of a transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt. Some patients may require hemodialysis to support kidney function, or a newer technique called liver dialysis which uses a dialysis circuit with albumin-bound membranes to bind and remove toxins normally cleared by the liver, providing a means of extracorporeal liver support until transplantation can be performed. The prognosis of individuals with type 1 H RS is particularly grim, with a mortality rate exceeding 50% after one month. It also carries a poor outlook, with the median survival time of approximately six months unless the affected individual undergoes liver transplation. The syndrome involves constriction of the blood vessels of the kidneys and dilation of blood vessels in the splanchnic circulation, which supplies the intestines. It is thought to be part of the spectrum of increased vein pressures in the portal vein, which begins with the development of ascites in the abdomen. As these phenomena may not necessarily produce symptoms in their course, individuals with the condition are typically diagnosed on the basis of the use of diuretic medications.
Both types of hepatorenal Syndrome share three major major components: altered liver function, abnormalities in circulation, and kidney failure. The risk of death in Hepatorenal Syndrome is very high; the mortality of individuals is over 50% over the short term, as determined by historical case series. Unlike type II, in type I hepatitis, the kidney failure improves with treatment and stabilizes. In contrast, type 2 hepatitis is slower in onset and progression, and is not associated with an inciting event. It’s thought that type 1 hepatitis is associated with ascites that does not improve with standard diuretic medications, and continues with the continued use of these medications until the kidneys are unable to clear the excrete fluid even with the help of the medications. The diagnosis of hepatitis is based on laboratory tests of individuals susceptible to the condition, and based on the type of liver function that has been altered by the disease. The condition is a relatively common complication of cir rhosis, occurring in 18% of people within one year of their diagnosis, and in 39% within five years of their Diagnosis. It occurs when liver function deteriorates rapidly because of a sudden insult such as an infection, bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract, or overuse of diuresis. The kidney failure is a consequence of these changes in blood flow, rather than direct damage to the kidney.
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This page is based on the article Hepatorenal syndrome published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 03, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
