title: Alcohol-related liver disease.
abstract: Alcohol is one of the three leading causes of liver disease in the developed world. Patients with alcohol-related liver disease are often cared for in general wards and hospitals, rather than specialist centres. This may be a result of the number of patients being admitted or a lack of referral to specialist services by healthcare professionals. The financial cost of caring for patients with alcohol-related injuries is continuing to rise. This article explores the mechanisms of liver injury caused by alcohol; the risk factors associated with alcohol-related liver disease; assessment tools used to identify patients with alcohol use disorders; withdrawal from alcohol; chronic liver disease; and issues surrounding transplantation. The importance of the nursing role in assessing and monitoring patients undergoing withdrawal from alcohol, information giving and advice on the prevention of alcohol-related liver injury, and supporting patients with alcohol-related liver injury is highlighted.
authors.affiliation: Liver Unit, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London.
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fullwood
mesh_terms: D000430:Alcohol Withdrawal Delirium / Q000451:nursing* / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000451:nursing / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy*; D014180:Transplantation; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: Alcohol and alcoholism; alcohol use disorder; alcohol withdrawal; alcoholic hepatitis; chronic liver disease; cirrhosis; fatty liver; liver disorders; substance misuse; transplantation