Gastroenterology and hepatology encompass a vast array of organs that have diverse structure and function and are affected by a multitude of disease processes. Diseases of the digestive tract are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom (UK) and worldwide. There have been great advances in our understanding, diagnosis, and management of gastrointestinal (GI) disease, and knowledge continues to develop at a great pace. Understanding the physiology and cellular and molecular events that drive pathological processes, as well as the development of sophisticated endoscopic and radiological tests, have transformed diagnostic capability. Therapeutic endoscopy has progressed to replace surgical management of common GI emergencies such as upper GI tract bleeding and decompressing biliary tract obstruction. However, as ever, there is still much work to be done. For example, the advances in biologic immunotherapy in inflammatory bowel disease has greatly improved patients’ quality of life and a reduction in the need for surgery, though the overall impact of these medications on the natural history of the disease is debatable at present. Hepatology is a greatly misunderstood specialty. The physiological changes that occur as cirrhosis and portal hypertension develop are the key to understanding all manifestations of a decompensating liver. Recently, there has been a significant increase in the prevalence of chronic liver disease in the UK, and as a result, hospital admissions have increased. Liver disease is the only major cause of death still increasing year on year, and twice as many people now die from liver disease than in 1991. The 2013 National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) of patients with alcohol- related liver disease (ARLD) found that less than half the number of patients who died from ARLD received ‘good care’, and avoidable deaths were identified. Allied to this, the enquiry shed light on a cultural pessimism regarding outcomes and prognosis of chronic liver disease and, in particular, ARLD from both the public and the medical profession as a whole. There is now a concerted drive towards improving awareness of chronic liver disease, and initial simple supportive treatments can greatly improve survival, more so than previously thought.
Review article: blood platelet number and function in chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
