Penza doctor told how medical examination reveals fatty hepatosis

Fatty hepatosis, also called steatosis, develops when too much fat accumulates in the liver cells. About pathology say if fat inclusions are present in more than 5% of cells, because in this case, the work of the organ is disturbed.

As part of the week of informing about the importance of medical examinations and examinations, the doctor for medical prevention of the Penza Regional Center for Public Health and Medical Prevention Christina Fomina explained how free examination helps to detect steatosis even before the first symptoms appear.

According to the specialist, the main feature of this disease is a long asymptomatic course at the initial stage. A person may not be aware of the problem for years, feel normal and not make specific complaints. The first signs, such as heaviness in the right hypochondrium and increased fatigue, often appear when the process progresses. Without timely assistance, fatty hepatosis can go into non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, then into fibrosis, and in severe cases into cirrhosis with the risk of liver failure.

It is reassuring that advanced changes can still be reversed if you catch the disease at the very beginning. And here comes the usual free medical examination, which works as an effective tool for early detection of the problem.

The first step is to visit a therapist who conducts primary screening. The doctor measures the main parameters of the body, including weight and waist volume, checks the pressure, and also prescribes directions for standard blood tests - for sugar and cholesterol. These numbers help identify hidden threats. An alarming bell will be, for example, waistline more than 80 centimeters in women or 94 in men, body mass index above 25, fasting glucose level from 5.6 mmol / l and triglycerides from 1.7 mmol / l. These values directly indicate metabolic disorders, which often trigger liver obesity. If the doctor notices several such signs at once, he sends the patient for an in-depth examination.

The second stage involves a more detailed check. The patient may be offered to pass blood biochemistry to assess the work of liver enzymes (ALT, AST and GGT), as well as undergo ultrasound of the abdominal cavity. If the enzymes are elevated, it signals damage to the cells of the organ, and ultrasound allows you to see structural changes. The combined analysis of all these data gives the doctor the opportunity to confirm or deny the diagnosis before the first symptoms appear.