Outpatient liver biopsy: how safe is it?

Article Abstract:

Patients who undergo a percutaneous liver biopsy as outpatients should be monitored closely for the development of complications. A percutaneous liver biopsy is a procedure used to diagnosis patients with suspected liver disease or to plan their treatment. This procedure was first used in the late 1800s by a German physician. It did not gain widespread acceptance until after the development of a safer technique in 1957. Physicians first started performing the percutaneous liver biopsy on an outpatient basis in 1966. Patients who undergo a liver biopsy as outpatients are closely monitored for the first six hours following the procedure. A research study found that 3% of patients who underwent a liver biopsy as outpatients developed complications. The complication rate among outpatients may vary depending on the technique used to do the biopsy. Outpatients in more advanced stages of liver disease may have a higher risk of complications than other patients.

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Outcome of patients hospitalized for complications after outpatient liver biopsy

Article Abstract:

Most patients who undergo a percutaneous liver biopsy as an outpatient do not develop any serious complications. A percutaneous liver biopsy is a diagnostic procedure performed on patients suspected of having different types of liver disorders. Among 405 outpatients who underwent a liver biopsy, 13 (3%) were admitted to the hospital after developing complications. Of the patients who developed complications, five (38%) were suffering from localized pain, five (38%) from low blood pressure, one (8%) from localized pain and low blood pressure, one (8%) from lightheadedness and one (8%) from other types of symptoms. All of the patients developed complications within three hours of undergoing a liver biopsy. Two patients received a blood transfusion, and two required treatment with narcotics. None underwent an invasive procedure such as surgery or chest tube placement.

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Primary biliary cirrhosis: questions and promises

Article Abstract:

Researchers may need to look at primary biliary cirrhosis with a new eye. Results of a recent study suggest that primary biliary cirrhosis may be a group of cirrhosis subtypes, each responding to different therapies and displaying different disease characteristics. Liver tissue sampling tests may prove to be the best way to distinguish between subtypes and monitor disease progress. Patients with primary biliary cirrhosis may benefit from a stepwise addition of drug therapies tailored to the patient's treatment responses.

Care and treatment, Biliary cirrhosis

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