©The Author(s) 2015. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Hepatol. May 18, 2015; 7(8): 1112-1124
Published online May 18, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i8.1112
Published online May 18, 2015. doi: 10.4254/wjh.v7.i8.1112
Adrenal insufficiency in patients with decompensated cirrhosis
Apostolos KA Karagiannis, Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, Korgialeneio Mpenakeio Hospital, 11526 Athens, Greece
Theodora Nakouti, Evangelos Cholongitas, 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of Aristotle University, Hippokration General Hospital of Thessaloniki, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece
Chrysoula Pipili, Division of Nephrology, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Scotland EH16 4SA, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Karagiannis AKA and Nakouti T contributed equally in writing and editing of the article; Pipili C edited the article at the end; Cholongitas E supervised the article.
Conflict-of-interest: None.
Correspondence to: Evangelos Cholongitas, MD, PhD, 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Medical School of Aristotle University, Hippokration General Hospital of Thessaloniki, Konstantinoupoleos 49, 54642 Thessaloniki, Greece. cholongitas@yahoo.gr
Telephone: +30-6936-378903 Fax: +30-2310-992940
Received: October 7, 2014
Peer-review started: October 7, 2014
First decision: December 17, 2014
Revised: January 12, 2015
Accepted: February 9, 2015
Article in press: February 11, 2015
Published online: May 18, 2015
Processing time: 224 Days and 5.8 Hours
Peer-review started: October 7, 2014
First decision: December 17, 2014
Revised: January 12, 2015
Accepted: February 9, 2015
Article in press: February 11, 2015
Published online: May 18, 2015
Processing time: 224 Days and 5.8 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Adrenal insufficiency is present in both critically ill and stable cirrhotics and in liver transplant recipients early or later after transplantation. Due to certain difficulties in determining cortisol levels and lack of gold standard method, the incidence of adrenal failure varies and depends on each test used for assessment of adrenal function. Corticosteroid administration has not been elucidated whether it leads to beneficial outcome in critically ill cirrhotics.