Patient organisations – Improve detection

Improve detection and management of hepatic encephalopathy

We are collaborating with patient groups both pan-European and country-specific to ensure better outcomes for patients and appropriate utilisation of healthcare resources. It is important that hepatic encephalopathy is recognised as a life threatening condition and healthcare systems report it like other critical conditions, so that patients can be managed accordingly.

Hepatic encephalopathy is a serious and potentially life-threatening neuropsychiatric condition associated with liver cirrhosis¹. In Europe 200,000² people are affected by hepatic encephalopathy yet it remains under-diagnosed and under-treated, as many patients and carers are unaware of the signs and symptoms of the disease. This results in poor quality of life for patients and a high burden on those who care for them.^3,4 Healthcare providers don’t always identify and treat the often subtle symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy which leads to mediocre patient outcomes and an increase in hospital admissions.⁵

In collaboration with the European Liver Patients Association (ELPA) we launched a report Time to DeLiver: Getting a Grip on hepatic encephalopathy which aims to drive change in the perception, identification and management of hepatic encephalopathy and to date remains the only report in Europe for this disease.

¹ Patidar KR. et al. Covert hepatic encephalopathy is independently associated with poor survival and increased risk of hospitalization. Am J Gastroenterol. 2014. 109. 1757-63.
² Amodio P, Del Piccolo F, Pettenò E, et al. Prevalence and prognostic value of quantified electroencephalogram (EEG) alterations in cirrhotic patients. J Hepatol. 2001;35(1):37-45.
³ Jasmohan S. Bajaj. et al. The Multi-Dimensional Burden of Cirrhosis and Hepatic
Encephalopathy on Patients and Caregivers. Am J Gastroenterol. 2011 Sep; 106(9): 1646–1653.
⁴ A. Sanyal. et al. Randomised clinical trial: rifaximin improves health-related quality of life in cirrhotic patients with hepatic encephalopathy – a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2011 Oct;34(8):853-61.
⁵ Hepatic Encephalopathy in Chronic Liver Disease: 2014 Practice Guideline by the European Association for the Study of the Liver and the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. Journal of Hepatology 2014; 61(3):642-659

Listen to Charlie talk about his experience with hepatic encephalopathy