title: Care of chronic liver disease.
abstract: Regardless of etiology, chronic liver disease generally involves a process of progressive destruction and regeneration of the liver parenchyma, leading to fibrosis and cirrhosis. At an early stage, most patients are asymptomatic and can easily go undiagnosed and untreated. Primary care physicians can often make the diagnosis but may offer little treatment. Better understanding about treatment is the key for primary care providers to provide better care for this group of patients. This review focuses on the treatment of the most common causes of chronic liver disease, including hepatitis B, hepatitis C, alcoholic cirrhosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and hemochromatosis.
authors.affiliation: Family and Community Medicine, Hershey Medical College, Penn State University, 1850 East Park Avenue, Suite #312, State College, PA 16801, USA. DJiang@hmc.psu.edu
authors.forename: Dongsheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005234:Fatty Liver / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D015438:Health Behavior; D006432:Hemochromatosis / Q000150:complications; D019694:Hepatitis B, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D019698:Hepatitis C, Chronic / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008104:Liver Cirrhosis, Alcoholic / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D065626:Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents