Standards of care for screening of liver disease in Slovakia – Joint statement of the Slovak Hepatological Society (SHS) and the Slovak Society of General Practice Medicine (SSVPL)
Tomáš Koller1, Mária Szántová1, Peter Makara2
+ Affiliation
Summary
Slovakia ranks among the world leaders in the prevalence and mortality of advanced liver diseases. Since the natural course of their most common causes is long-term and asymptomatic, there is a large window of opportunity for identifying the risk and implementing effective preventive measures. This material aims to propose to practicing physicians basic principles in the initial screening of liver diseases in asymptomatic individuals. First of all, it recommends an active search for risk factors for the most common liver diseases, such as metabolic syndrome, alcohol consumption, risk factors for chronic viral hepatitis and measurement of serum ALT. When the risk factors are identified, it further recommends diagnostic refinement of the presence of hepatic steatosis, viral hepatitis, confirmation of persistent ALT elevation and stratification of the risk of liver fibrosis. Finally, this standard procedure suggests basic principles in the management of identified risk factors and, in the case of detected liver diseases, defines rules for referral to specialized care.
Keywords
screening, chronic liver disease, prevention, risk factors, standard of careTo read this article in full, please register for free on this website.
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