CASE A 52-year-old white woman with a presumptive diagnosis of cirrhosis attributed to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis was referred for a liver transplant consultation. The patient reported increased abdominal discomfort, swelling, and lower extremity edema beginning 7 years earlier, as well as intermittent nausea, weakness, and confusion which had increased in frequency during the previous year. While undergoing a cholestectomy for gallstones 2 years previously, the patient was noted to have ascites and a cirrhotic-appearing liver. Results of routine laboratory tests and an abdominal ultrasound performed at that time were consistent with cirrhosis.
