Day 2 Male alcoholics may suffer testicular atrophy due to the increased breakndown of testosterone by the damaged liver. Hepatic encephalopathy is caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the bloodstream. Aldosterone synthesis is decreased in the damaged liver. A person with a damaged liver may present with either hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Renal injury is a common cause of liver dysfunction.
Varices are due to increased back-pressure on the hepatic vein.
Day 3 One factor contributing to ascites is a relative decrease in plasma protein, a situation that promotes edema. If this woman's cholelithiasis is severe, we might expect that she will have difficulty digesting and absorbing lipids. If this patient has difficulty digesting and absorbing lipids, then we expect that she will absorb less of her oral contraceptive. On the other hand, if this patient has cholelithiasis, we can infer that her liver is damaged and will metabolize hormones poorly. Extensive jaundice means that the patient has cholestasis too.