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.
Cirrhosis is frequently asymptomatic, particularly in the compensated phase.
NHS — Symptoms of cirrhosis
The exact wording of the source
Symptoms of cirrhosis · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
Many people who have cirrhosis do not have symptoms, especially early on.
Management centres on treating the underlying aetiology and on preventing and managing complications.
NHS — Treatment for cirrhosis
The exact wording of the source
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.
Terminology is in transition. NICE renamed its guideline in July 2026: MASLD is the new name for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and MASH replaces non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. NHS patient information still uses NAFLD. Readers will arrive holding either term.
NHS — Who is more likely to have cirrhosis · NICE — Overview, Update information
The exact wording of the source
Who is more likely to have cirrhosis · status: current, verified 2026-09-01
Open
have non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)
Sources differ. LIVE NOMENCLATURE DIVERGENCE, AND IT IS INTERNAL TO THE UK. NHS patient information (reviewed February 2025) says “non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)”. NICE NG50’s own diagnosis chapter, as published on 2026-09-01, uses “metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD)” throughout and cross-refers to a NICE MASLD guideline. EASL-EASD-EASO adopted MASLD in 2024, and NICE renamed NG49 in July 2026 (CLM-NOM-0001). So the divergence is not UK versus Europe: it is between NICE professional guidance and NHS patient-facing information, both Tier 1, both current. The platform must show both terms and explain the change; search must map between them; and NHS wording must not be silently rewritten. Classed fast-moving because NHS is likely to update.
Overview, Update information · status: under_review, verified 2026-09-01
Open
In July 2026, we renamed and updated this guideline to reflect that: MASLD is the new name for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH) is the new name for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
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.