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Characteristics of upper abdominal pain in those with chronic liver disease

Thomas R Riley1, Kenneth Koch

  • 1Hershey Medical Center, Pennsylvania College of Medicine, Department of Medicine, PO Box 850, MC 045 Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, USA. Triley@psu.edu

Digestive Diseases and Sciences
|November 25, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Hepatitis C (HCV) patients and those with other liver diseases report more upper abdominal pain than healthy individuals. This pain is often worsened by eating, a surprising finding in liver disease patients.

Area of Science:

  • Hepatology
  • Gastroenterology
  • Clinical Medicine

Background:

  • Chronic hepatitis, including Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, is a significant cause of liver disease.
  • Upper abdominal pain is a common symptom associated with various liver conditions.
  • Understanding the prevalence and characteristics of pain in HCV patients compared to other liver diseases is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To compare the one-month prevalence of upper abdominal pain in patients with HCV, patients with other chronic liver diseases (LD), and normal controls (NC).
  • To identify factors associated with upper abdominal pain in these groups.
  • To investigate specific pain characteristics, such as exacerbation after meals.

Main Methods:

  • A cross-sectional, case-control study involving three groups: normal individuals (N=64), patients with chronic liver diseases other than HCV (N=53), and HCV patients (N=64).
  • Utilized a dyspepsia questionnaire to assess one-month symptom presence, including upper abdominal pain and associated symptoms.
  • Employed univariate and multivariate analyses to determine predictors of upper abdominal pain.

Main Results:

  • One-month period prevalence of upper abdominal pain was significantly higher in HCV patients (45.3%) and LD patients (32%) compared to NC (20.3%) (P=0.01).
  • Pain worsened by eating was markedly more common in LD (22.6%) and HCV (26.6%) groups versus NC (1.6%) (P=.003).
  • Multivariate analysis identified age < 50, BMI > 30, nausea, and pain with eating as predictors of upper abdominal pain.

Conclusions:

  • Upper abdominal pain is more frequently reported in individuals with chronic liver diseases, particularly HCV infection.
  • The finding that abdominal pain worsens after meals in liver patients, but not in healthy subjects, warrants further investigation.
  • These results highlight the importance of assessing abdominal pain characteristics in the management of chronic liver disease.

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