Critical condition due to arbitrarily stopping liver medication

Consequences of non-compliance with treatment

Recently, the Hepatitis Department, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases admitted Mr. LVT (51 years old, in Kien An, Hai Phong City) in a state of severe jaundice and acute liver failure due to arbitrarily stopping hepatitis B treatment medication.

A case of severe hepatitis B had to be hospitalized for treatment.

Mr. T was diagnosed with chronic hepatitis B two years ago and was prescribed antiviral medication to control the disease. However, the patient did not comply with the treatment and stopped taking the medication on his own more than a month before being hospitalized.

After about two weeks of stopping the medication, Mr. T felt tired, had a poor appetite, was bloated, and was afraid of fat. By the third week, Mr. T began to experience obvious jaundice, dark urine, pale stools, and a bloated abdomen. The following week, Mr. T developed edema, subcutaneous bleeding, and slowed cognition and poor response.

At the Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Mr. T was diagnosed with acute liver failure, cirrhosis, chronic hepatitis B, grade 2 hepatic coma and at risk of rapid progression to grade 3-4 if not controlled promptly.

Also here, Mrs. BTL (57 years old, from Hoa Binh) was taken to the hospital by her husband in a state of fatigue, loss of appetite and bloating. Two years ago, Mrs. L had cirrhosis of the liver due to hepatitis B virus but at that time her condition was still mild so she was sent home for treatment. Hearing from people around her, the couple went to a traditional medicine shop in Hoa Binh specializing in treating the liver and stomach, stopped taking medicine and stopped taking anti-hepatitis B antiviral drugs.

After 15 months, seeing that his wife had a ruptured blood vessel and her hepatitis B had progressed severely, Mr. T rushed his wife to the hospital for examination.

Ms. L was diagnosed with cirrhosis due to stopping her medication and taking herbal medicine. According to the doctor, the patient's taking herbal medicine caused liver toxicity, causing cirrhosis to progress faster.

The Path to Liver Cancer

Associate Professor, Dr. Do Duy Cuong, Director of the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Bach Mai Hospital, said that Vietnam currently has about 10 million people infected with hepatitis B virus and nearly 1 million people infected with hepatitis C virus.

Hepatitis patients are now detected, managed and monitored regularly at specialized clinics or are given medication under the health insurance program. However, some patients feel better after taking medication and stop taking it on their own, leading to dangerous complications such as acute liver failure, decompensated cirrhosis, liver cancer, etc.

Sharing the same opinion, Specialist II Dr. Doi Ngoc Anh, Department of Hepatitis, Central Hospital for Tropical Diseases, said: Hepatitis B is the leading cause of cirrhosis and liver cancer. Many patients think that when taking antiviral drugs, they will not be at risk of liver cancer. But in fact, even with treatment, this risk still exists.

"Most importantly, patients need to have regular check-ups every 3-6 months to control the disease and screen for liver cancer with ultrasound and specialized tests. In particular, when stopping the drug, the virus can flare up quickly, promoting the process of cirrhosis and liver cancer to progress faster," the doctor warned.

Need to follow the protocol

Dr. Ngoc Anh also emphasized that regular check-ups help detect liver cancer early. If the tumor is detected in the early stages, treatment will be much more effective than when the disease has progressed severely.

Therefore, each patient with hepatitis B needs to be aware of protecting their health, comply with the treatment regimen and proactively monitor their health periodically, not arbitrarily stop taking medication to avoid dangerous complications and improve quality of life.

"Treatment of hepatitis B is lifelong, so patients need to be closely monitored and managed by specialists.

"Medicines for hepatitis B and C are now covered by health insurance, so patients do not have to worry much about the cost of treatment. It is important that people are aware of the dangers of hepatitis to their health and follow the recommendations of experts," Dr. Cuong advised.

According to doctors, when patients with chronic hepatitis B stop taking their medication on their own, the virus can reactivate strongly, causing acute hepatitis and serious liver damage. Initially, patients may only feel tired, have poor appetite, bloating and jaundice that is not obvious.

However, after 2-3 weeks, jaundice and yellow eyes will begin to appear, dark urine, abdominal distension due to accumulation of abdominal fluid. As the disease worsens, the patient may have generalized edema, subcutaneous bleeding, and signs of hepatic coma (hepatic encephalopathy), loss of concentration, and confusion.

Source: https://www.baogiaothong.vn/nguy-kich-vi-tu-y-ngung-thuoc-dieu-tri-gan-192250317224233634.htm