Gastrointestinal

Pale Stool, Dark Urine & Biliary Obstruction: Mechanism

Catabolism of hemoglobin leads to the release of heme, which converts to biliverdin and then to unconjugated bilirubin in the…

11 months ago

Difference between Mycophenolate Mofetil vs. Mycophenolate Sodium

The two drugs are not interchangeable, nor dose equivalents. Mycophenolate mofetil (Cellcept) is a semi-synthetic prodrug that is rapidly hydrolyzed…

5 years ago

NAFLD vs. NASH

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) affects over 1/4th of the world's population. It has become the leading cause of cirrhosis…

6 years ago

Hepatopulmonary syndrome vs. Portopulmonary hypertension

Often confused as the same syndrome, Hepatopulmonary syndrome and Portopulmonary hypertension are two distinct disease processes. Both are characterized as…

6 years ago

Why Prednisolone for Alcoholic Hepatitis?

Patients presenting with severe alcoholic hepatitis (Discriminant Function value ≥32) have high short-term mortality and may benefit from treatment with…

7 years ago

Factor VIII: DIC vs Liver Disease (Cirrhosis)

Distinguishing between the coagulation abnormalities of liver disease vs. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) can be difficult as clinical and biochemical findings…

7 years ago

Why does Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency cause Cirrhosis?

Alpha-1 antitrypsin is an anti protease that protects the lungs from endogenous elastases, collagenases, and protease. These enzymes are responsible for…

8 years ago

Compensated vs. Decompensated Cirrhosis

Compensated: Patients with cirrhosis that have not developed major complications of cirrhosis. Decompensated: Patients with cirrhosis who have developed major…

9 years ago

Why 2:1 Ratio of AST/ALT in Alcoholic Hepatitis?

Alcoholic hepatitis lab findings classically reveal serum AST/ ALT >2. (Although rarely above 300 IU per milliliter). Although this finding…

9 years ago

Indications for Spontaneous Bacterial Peritonitis (SBP) Prophylaxis

Antibiotic prophylaxis for patients with risk factors for spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) include: Known history of SBP: Typically prolonged outpatient…

9 years ago

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