Fatty liver disease is
Underdiagnosed
Affects 1 in 3 Australians yet is easily missed in its early stages
Under-estimated
Causes significant morbidity and mortality, usually due to vascular implications
Undertreated
95% require active management and appropriate referrals to reduce vascular risk
5% need aggressive treatment to prevent cirrhosis
Staging fatty liver disease
If test results do not improve after 6-12 months of conservative management, fatty liver disease should be staged to identify the 5% of patients who need more aggressive treatment.
However, the other 95% still need careful and active management. It is not enough to ‘watch and wait’ on repeated LFTs. The focus for this group is on interventions to reduce vascular risk and prevent the progression of liver disease.
| The 95% | The 5% | |
| Clinical evidence | Excess fat deposits in liver | Inflammation of the liver |
| Relevance | Indicates generally poor health with well-documented morbidity:
|
High risk of progressing to cirrhosis and premature death |
| Focus | Reduce their vascular risk and improve liver health | Protect their liver |
| Actions | Active management to:
Referral to appropriate medical specialists and allied health professionals. |
Refer to gastroenterologist / liver specialist for aggressive treatment to prevent cirrhosis.
Management may involve:
|
| Review | If no improvement after 6-12 months:
|
Follow-up staging
|
What’s covered in the webinar?
The live webinar will explore the identification, management and treatment of fatty liver disease.
Topics will include:
- Definition of NAFLD
- Prevalence
- Risk factors
- Diagnosis – benefits and limitations of common diagnostic procedures
- Staging – why it matters and new, non-invasive methods of assessing it.
There’ll also be plenty of time for you to ask your questions.
Disclaimer
This information is intended for healthcare professionals
