The patient's family said: The patient had a habit of drinking alcohol regularly. From late 2022 to early 2023, the patient continuously experienced complications of gastric bleeding, a typical sign of progressive cirrhosis. By October 2023, the patient began to experience additional symptoms of jaundice and abdominal distension, typical manifestations of end-stage cirrhosis.
Over the years, the patient had visited many traditional healers to get medicine to treat gout and other health problems. After experiencing problems with gastric bleeding, the patient continued to use traditional Chinese medicine to treat his stomach. In particular, when cirrhosis was discovered, the patient switched to using drugs of unknown origin to treat his liver.
Among the unknown drugs the patient used was a pill purchased from abroad that the family believed could help relieve pain quickly. The patient took this pill whenever he felt pain. In addition, the patient also injected himself with other painkillers to control the pain.
Upon admission to the Intensive Care Unit of the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, the patient was in a very critical condition with symptoms of jaundice, yellow eyes, abdominal distension and unconsciousness. Initial diagnosis showed that the patient had acute liver failure on the basis of cirrhosis and hepatitis C.
Doctor Doan Duy Thanh - Intensive Care Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases - said that for patients with the above liver condition, the liver's ability to recover itself is extremely low. Therefore, patients need to be especially careful with their health, should not abuse painkillers or drugs of unknown origin and limit the use of beer and alcohol.
Dr. Thanh recommends: People, especially patients with liver disease, should proactively go to reputable medical facilities for diagnosis and treatment. Self-treatment or use of drugs of unknown origin can cause serious consequences, even life-threatening. Avoiding drug and alcohol abuse and following the doctor's instructions is the best way to protect the health of the liver and the entire body.
