AFLP can be diagnosed through these methods:
- Perform liver biopsy (viewing liver tissue under a microscope) - not advisable due to increased chance of bleeding in AFLP mothers.
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| Percutaneous liver biopsy [http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/liverbiopsy/images/BiopsyNeedle.jpg] |
- Ultrasound / Computed Tomography(CT) scan - to detect accumulation of fats around liver
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| Ultrasound [http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~jharlow/teaching/phy138_0708/lec04/ultrasoundx_files/image001.jpg] |
- Blood test -a disorder in fatty acid metabolism will lead to: high white blood cell count, increased amount of liver enzymes, low blood sugar and more
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| Blood test [http://blogs.prideangel.com/image.axd?picture=blood+test.jpg] |
You also can look out for signs and symptoms of AFLP as mentioned in the previous posts, for early treatment and preparations.
TREATMENT and PREVENTION
Due to complications of coagulation and high changes of bleeding that may occur in some AFLP patients, patients are advise to change their coagulation factors before their cesarean delivery.
Close monitoring of mother and fetus is important before the delivery to prevent other complications that may occur during delivery. For patients of AFLP with severe hypoglycemia, they are advise to take intravenous fluid such as Dextrose solution for regulation of their blood glucose levels. If severe hypoglycemia is not manage properly, it may lead to coma or even death.
To prevent mother and baby from further sufferings and complications, once the mother is diagnosed with AFLP, it is best to deliver the baby as soon as possible. The earlier the baby is born, the lesser the risk poses for both the mother and the baby. The condition of the mother should also improve after the delivery if nothing went wrong with the delivery.
Due to complications of coagulation and high changes of bleeding that may occur in some AFLP patients, patients are advise to change their coagulation factors before their cesarean delivery.
Close monitoring of mother and fetus is important before the delivery to prevent other complications that may occur during delivery. For patients of AFLP with severe hypoglycemia, they are advise to take intravenous fluid such as Dextrose solution for regulation of their blood glucose levels. If severe hypoglycemia is not manage properly, it may lead to coma or even death.
To prevent mother and baby from further sufferings and complications, once the mother is diagnosed with AFLP, it is best to deliver the baby as soon as possible. The earlier the baby is born, the lesser the risk poses for both the mother and the baby. The condition of the mother should also improve after the delivery if nothing went wrong with the delivery.
Patients of AFLP should be aware of symptoms of AFLP, so that when signs and symptoms of AFLP surface, they should immediately consult the doctor for early treatment. Should AFLP be diagnosed earlier, latter serious complications maybe minimise.
When the case is serious, a liver transplantation may be required.
When the case is serious, a liver transplantation may be required.
References:
Sarah A. 2007. Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy (AFLP): What You Need to Know. [ONLINE] Available at:http://voices.yahoo.com/acute-fatty-liver-pregnancy-aflp-need-566729.html?cat=70. [Accessed 15 January 13].
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_fatty_liver_of_pregnancy. [Accessed 15 January 2013].
University of Rochester Medical Center . 2013. Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy.[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P02465. [Accessed 15 January 2013].
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse . 2013.Liver Biopsy. [ONLINE] Available at:http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/liverbiopsy/. [Accessed 15 January 2013].
Medscape: Medscape Access. 2013. Treatment-show all. [ONLINE] Available at: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1562425-treatment#showall. [Accessed 19 January 2013].
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Acute fatty liver of pregnancy. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_fatty_liver_of_pregnancy. [Accessed 15 January 2013].
University of Rochester Medical Center . 2013. Acute Fatty Liver of Pregnancy.[ONLINE] Available at: http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=90&ContentID=P02465. [Accessed 15 January 2013].
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse . 2013.Liver Biopsy. [ONLINE] Available at:http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/liverbiopsy/. [Accessed 15 January 2013].
Medscape: Medscape Access. 2013. Treatment-show all. [ONLINE] Available at: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1562425-treatment#showall. [Accessed 19 January 2013].
The post above mentioned that patients were advised to change their coagulation factors before the delivery, but how might the patient go about doing this? Is it through the addition of additional coagulation factors or by some other method?
ReplyDelete-Mandy & Xin Yan
Coagulation factors is also known as clotting factors. Clotting factors are replaced by injecting a clot factor replacement into the veins to help blood clot better, preventing excessive bleeding and damage to muscle,joints and organs.
DeleteThere are different types of blood clotting factor replacements such as fresh frozen plasma, cryoprecipitates and factor concentrates.
Further information can be found at http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/clotting-factor-replacement-for-hemophilia
- Hilary and Yolande