What stages and symptoms of liver failure are there?
Inflammation (something such as alcohol and HCV actively bothering the liver) can lead to fibrosis (abnormal fibrous bands in the liver). As time goes by and the inflammation continues, more and more fibrosis forms. As even more time goes by, liver cells may begin to die and scar tissue begins to form. Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver which is called cirrhosis. When a biopsy is done, they use a staging system that goes from 0-4. Here’s how the stages go. Stage 0- no fibrosis present 1- small amount of fibrosis present 2- a little more fibrosis present 3- even more fibrosis present (bridging fibrosis) 4- cirrhosis is present So that’s why people with even a small amount of cirrhosis is called end stage liver disease. But cirrhosis itself has 3 stages of A, B, and C. Stage A- compensated cirrhosis- asymptomatic, B- beginning of decompensation- needs medications and treatments to control symptoms of cirrhosis C- decompensated cirrhosis- medications no longer very effective
