title: Liver cirrhosis: Child-Pugh grading of cases seen in Nigeria.
abstract: Child-Pugh grading is an important determinant of treatment options, surgical interventions and prognosis in chronic liver disease. Sixty-four liver cirrhosis patients (49 men, 15 women) seen at Ile-Ife, Nigeria were graded according to the Child-Pugh parameters. Only one (1.6%) was in Class A, while 21 (32.8%) and 42 (65.6%) were in Classes B and C, respectively. Thirty-four either had coagulopathy or were already in encephalopathy at the time of presentation. Hepatitis B virus-associated disease was present in 64% of the patients. Most Nigerian cirrhosis patients present with very advanced disease; they are thus poor-risk candidates for diagnostic procedures and surgery. Efforts should be intensified at making the diagnosis at a much earlier stage and universal immunization with the hepatitis B vaccine should be commenced to reduce the incidence of HBV-related chronic liver disease in Nigeria.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), lle-Ife, Nigeria. dennisandububa@yahoo.co.uk
authors.forename: D A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Ndububa
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Ojo
authors.forename: A O
authors.initials: AO
authors.lastname: Aladegbaiye
authors.forename: R A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Adebayo
authors.forename: V A
authors.initials: VA
authors.lastname: Adetiloye
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Durosinmi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009549:Nigeria; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index