The liver is the body’s unsung hero, quietly working away to make the vital substances that keep a wide range of essential body processes ticking over, breaking down chemicals that would otherwise be toxic and hoovering up worn-out blood cells. But liver disease is currently very low on the primary care agenda compared to other long-term conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and respiratory conditions. Awarded ‘nil points’ on the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF), the liver doesn’t get a look in when it comes to health checks and dedicated clinics. So how can we make sure the liver isn’t left out of consultations?
Holding out for a hero: helping patients to look after their livers
Understanding viral hepatitis: as easy as A, B, C
Viral hepatitis is one of the three main causes of liver disease. We review the different types of viral hepatitis and the key steps in prevention, diagnosis and treatment.
Back to Basics: What goes wrong in chronic liver disease?
When and how to use liver function tests
Why bother checking a patient’s liver function? We look at when and how to use liver function tests in clinical practice.
Making sense of liver function tests
The liver has many functions, and therefore diseases of the liver have numerous consequences. These can be detected and monitored with blood tests. This article provides a review of liver function tests, or LFTs, and how they relate to the key functions of the liver and some of the most common liver diseases.
Editorial 1 – Putting chronic liver disease on the primary care agenda
Chronic liver disease is a problem for all of us. It develops silently, often taking many years to cause sufficient damage to be detectable or cause signs or symptoms for which a patient would seek attention. Primary care has a central role in improving the prevention and early detection of chronic liver disease. This special issue of the British Journal of Primary Care Nursing (BJPCN) and Primary Care Cardiovascular Journal on chronic liver disease is full of step-by-step guides and informative articles to give you the key information and tools to get to grips with this important condition.
Editorial 2 – If I had one wish for improving the management of liver disease…
Making sense of liver function tests
The liver has many functions, and therefore diseases of the liver have numerous consequences. These can be detected and monitored with blood tests. This article provides a review of liver function tests, or LFTs, and how they relate to the key functions of the liver and some of the most common liver diseases.