Cirrhosis
Call 999 or go to A&E if
- If you have been diagnosed with cirrhosis, call 999 or go to A&E if you are vomiting blood, your poo is very dark or black, or you suddenly become confused or have slurred speech.
Do not drive to A&E. Ask someone to drive you or call 999 and ask for an ambulance. Bring any medicines you take with you.
Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if
- Ask for an urgent GP appointment or get help from NHS 111 if your skin or the whites of your eyes look yellow, you have difficulty breathing, or you have a swollen tummy, legs, ankles or feet.
Cirrhosis is a condition where the liver is severely damaged. It can be life-threatening, but treatment and changes to how you live can help stop it getting worse.
Many people with cirrhosis have no symptoms at all, especially early on. Feeling well does not mean the liver is undamaged.
Where this came from
Symptoms of cirrhosis · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
Many people who have cirrhosis do not have symptoms, especially early on.
How serious cirrhosis is depends on what is causing it and how early it is found and treated. Many people with cirrhosis feel well and live for many years. It can also cause complications that are serious or life-threatening.
Where this came from
Risks of cirrhosis · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
How serious cirrhosis is depends on things like what's causing it and how early it's diagnosed and treated. Many people with cirrhosis can feel well and live for many years. But it can cause complications which can be serious or life-threatening.
Cirrhosis cannot be cured, but treatment can slow it down or stop it getting worse. That usually means treating whatever is causing the damage, and preventing or treating complications.
Where this came from
Treatment for cirrhosis · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
Cirrhosis cannot be cured, but there are treatments that can help slow it down or stop it getting worse. This usually involves treating the cause
Sources differ. NOT a contradiction, but a tension the platform must handle carefully rather than smooth over. The Baveno VII consensus (SRC-BAVENO-2022-baveno-vii-consensus) introduces hepatic recompensation - reversal of the structural and functional changes of cirrhosis after the cause is removed, cured or suppressed. NHS patient wording says cirrhosis cannot be cured. Both are defensible at their own resolution and the specialist layer must explain the relationship rather than let a patient meet 'cannot be cured' and a clinician meet 'recompensation' with no bridge between them. Requires the Baveno VII full text before the specialist statement is written.
Cirrhosis can lead to other problems. These include poor nutrition and weak bones. It can also cause infections and sepsis, jaundice, and fluid in the tummy. Other problems are changes in the brain that cause confusion, bleeding inside the body, liver failure, and liver cancer. A blood clot can also form in the vein that carries blood to the liver.
Where this came from
Risks of cirrhosis; Complications include · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
malnutrition ... osteoporosis ... infections ... sepsis ... jaundice ... ascites ... changes in the brain that can cause problems like confusion ... internal bleeding ... liver failure ... liver cancer
Related
- Alcohol-related liver disease — is associated with
- Ascites — can lead to
- Hepatocellular carcinoma — can lead to
- Hepatic encephalopathy — can lead to
- AAV vectors — is a reason to avoid
- Steatotic liver disease — is associated with
What we have not established
Relationships involving Cirrhosis that we have not evidenced are listed, never drawn — a line would read as a weak relationship, which is a different and false claim.
- None recorded for this concept.
Evidence search date: 2026-09-01
Content reviewed and approved
What we have not established here
Known gaps on this concept:
No clinical or histological definition of cirrhosis - the plain definition is sourced, the clinical one is not. Needs Baveno VII or an EASL background section.
No compensated versus decompensated distinction authored, although the ontology separates them. This is the concept split that Phase 5 must resolve.
Specialist layer on hepatic recompensation blocked on the Baveno VII full text.
No research resolution content.
Cause-specific content (alcohol, MASLD, viral, autoimmune, genetic) not authored.
What has changed here
2026-09-01 — Concept created at plain, clinical, specialist and research resolutions with a full emergency block.
Phase 3 acquisition of NHS cirrhosis and NICE NG50.
2026-09-01 — Bound the July 2026 NICE renaming statement to a new claim, CLM-NOM-0001.
validate:content caught ST-CIR-060 asserting a date that no claim it rendered supported. The fact was verified; the claim binding it did not exist.