title: Infectious diseases in end-stage liver disease patients.
abstract: Patients with chronic liver diseases sustain impairment to immune systems, which worsens over time. These defects in their host defense lead to risks of bacterial infections and increased morbidity. Providers should have heightened surveillance for infectious diseases and suspect one with any acute change in status. Patient history may reveal rare infections and allow initiation of early appropriate therapy. There should be a low threshold for obtaining diagnostic cultures and peritoneal fluid samples and discussing possible causes with an infectious diseases consultant or a microbiology laboratory. These maneuvers will maximize therapy in patients at high risk for death due to infectious disease.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Emory University School of Medicine, Woodruff Memorial Research Building, Suite 2101, 101 Woodruff Circle, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA. aneesh.mehta@emory.edu
authors.forename: Aneesh K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Mehta
authors.forename: G Marshall
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lyon
mesh_terms: D000333:Aeromonas; D001201:Ascites / Q000276:immunology; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D018988:Bacterial Translocation; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis; D058625:End Stage Liver Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000276:immunology; D008088:Listeriosis / Q000276:immunology; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D012157:Mononuclear Phagocyte System / Q000503:physiopathology; D010538:Peritonitis / Q000276:immunology; D014735:Vibrio Infections / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D016207:Cytokines