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Quality of Life in Patients with Cirrhosis—Measurement and Clinical Impact

  • Management of Cirrhotic Patient (A Cardenas and P Tandon, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of the Review

As understanding of liver disease progression to cirrhosis has expanded, there has also been an acceleration in clinical trials and treatment options for the different underlying causes of cirrhosis to include chronic viral hepatitis, alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. It is imperative that healthcare practitioners fully appreciate the impact of liver disease and treatment from the patients’ and society perspective.

Recent Findings

An important aspect of patient-reported outcomes (PROs) is assessment of health-related quality of life (HRQL) completed using generic or disease-specific instruments. In the past decades, substantial evidence has been complied that demonstrates development of cirrhosis which has a significant negative impact on a patients’ HRQL while effective treatment leads to significant gains in HRQL especially for patients with decompensated cirrhosis.

Summary

Clinicians and clinical investigators must understand the importance of PROs for inclusion in clinical trials to fully assess the impact of cirrhosis on patients and the society.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Liver Diseases, Department of Medicine, Inova Fairfax Hospital, Falls Church, VA, USA

    Zobair M. Younossi

  2. Betty and Guy Beatty Center for Integrated Research, Inova Health System, Claude Moore Health Education and Research Building, 3300 Gallows Road, Falls Church, VA, 22042, USA

    Zobair M. Younossi

  3. Center for Outcomes Research in Liver Disease, Washington, DC, USA

    Linda Henry

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Zobair Younossi and Linda Henry each declare no conflicts of interest.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Management of Cirrhotic Patient

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Younossi, Z.M., Henry, L. Quality of Life in Patients with Cirrhosis—Measurement and Clinical Impact. Curr Hepatology Rep 17, 15–21 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11901-018-0385-y

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