Hameed Ahmed, Masood Ur Rehman, Ilyas Saeedi, Dilawar Shah.
Factors precipitating Hepatic Encephalopathy in Cirrhosis Liver.
J Postgrad Med Inst Jan ;15(1):91-7.

We surveyed 50 patients admitted with clinical diagnosis of hepatic encephalopathy, for one or more factors responsible for encephalopathy. The commonest precipitating factors were, hypokalaemia 68%, Haematemesis 56%, constipation 52%, high protein intake 52%, hyponatremia 28%, diarrhea 22%, infections including spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and septicemia 28%, Benzodiazepine intake 2% surgical procedure 2%. Oesophageal varices were present in 60%. Hypokalaemia and Electrolytes imbalance must be considered as an important precipitating factor in causation of encephalopathy in cirrhotics.

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