Meric Yildirim , PhD, PT 1.5 ANCC Contact Hours Falls in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis ABSTRACT Health-related quality of life (HRQOL) has become an important outcome for patients with liver cirrhosis as the num- ber of transplantation candidates increases by the progression of treatment strategies. Falls and fall-related injuries are common in patients with liver cirrhosis and negatively affect HRQOL. Many factors increase the risk for falls such as minimal hepatic encephalopathy, psychoactive drugs, muscle strength, autonomic dysfunction, hyponatremia, and sleep problems. It is important to understand the underlying mechanisms for falls in cirrhotic patients to prevent se- vere injuries such as fractures, decrease healthcare costs, and improve HRQOL. Healthcare professionals, including physiotherapists and nurses, should be aware of the higher risk for falls in this population and therapeutic interven- tions must be designed for patients, especially those waiting on the transplant list. anagement of liver cirrhosis has changed 2004 ), falls has also been reported as an independent considerably by progression of treat- factor for impaired HRQOL in patients with cirrhosis ment strategies leading to significant ( Roman, Cordoba, Torrens, Guarner, & Soriano, improvements in patient survival ( Gines, 2012 ). MCardenas, Arroyo, & Rodes, 2004 ). Increased survival rates raised the number of candidates waiting for liver Falls in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis transplantation. As a result, health-related quality of Falls and fall-related injuries are common in chronic life (HRQOL) has remarkably gained importance for liver diseases ( Frith et al., 2010 , 2012 ). “Hepatic cirrhotic patients as well as those with other chronic osteodystrophy” is extremely common in patients with diseases ( Loria, Escheik, Gerber, & Younossi, 2013 ). It chronic liver diseases and cirrhotic patients show an is regarded as an outcome for the efficiency of clinical approximately twofold relative increase in the risk of interventions and a selection criterion for liver trans- fracture, regardless of the etiology of cirrhosis (Luxon, plantation ( Les et al., 2010 ). 2011). Frith et al. (2010) reported a fall history in 72% Recent studies on patients with liver cirrhosis have of the patients with primary biliary cirrhosis. Seventy focused on determinants of HRQOL including physi- percent of the patients who had fallen in that study cal, psychological, and social aspects. In addition to were injured, including bone fractures and hospital many factors such as cognitive dysfunction, ascites, admissions ( Frith et al., 2010 ). Prevalence of fractures hypoalbuminemia, anemia, and psychiatric comorbidi- has been reported to be between 3% and 22% in cir- ties ( Les et al., 2010 ; Hauser, Holtmann, & Grandt, rhotic patients, regardless of the etiology, leading to high morbidity and mortality rates (Tsai et al., 2013). Therefore, it is very important to clarify underlying Received December 22, 2014; accepted May 21, 2015. mechanisms and prevent falls in patients with liver cir- About the author: Meric Yildirim, PhD, PT, is Assistant Professor, School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, rhosis to improve patients’ quality of life, preserve Turkey. physical functions, and diminish healthcare costs. The author declares no conflicts of interest. The World Health Organization defines a fall as “an event which results in a person coming to rest inadvert- Correspondence to: Meric Yildirim, PhD, PT, School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylul University, 35340 Izmir, Turkey ( meric ently on the ground or floor or other lower level” [email protected] ). ( World Health Organization, 2012 ). Simply, falls occur DOI: 10.1097/SGA.0000000000000145 as a result of inability to maintain posture. Previous 306 Copyright © 2017 Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates Gastroenterology Nursing Copyright © 2017 Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited. Falls in Patients With Liver Cirrhosis studies showed a deterioration in postural control of Minimal hepatic encephalopathy impairs attention, cirrhotic patients, which was correlated to disease coordination, and orientation, and affects daily activi- severity ( Aref, Naguib, Hosni, & El-Basel, 2012; ties, work performance, and motor functions such as Schmid et al., 2009 ). Moreover, postural instability driving ( Bajaj et al., 2008 ). Falls probably occur as a and gait impairments were reported as the early signs result of similar mechanisms in patients with MHE of “chronic Parkinsonism associated with liver cirrho- mainly because of increased reaction times and motor sis,” which was found in nearly 21% of patients in the slowing. study by Burkhard, Delavelle, Du Pasquier, and Spahr (2003) . Similarly, Jover et al. (2005) evaluated 46 cir- Psychoactive Drugs rhotic patients using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease In relation to MHE, patients on psychoactive medica- Rating Scale; 22 patients showed extrapyramidal signs. tion showed higher fall incidence. The association Assessment of postural stability by either objective between MHE and falls was stronger in patients on methods or clinical tools may help to detect fall risk. psychoactive drugs ( Roman et al., 2011 ). Soriano et al. Frith et al. (2010) reported poor balance as a signifi- (2012) found higher frequency of falls in patients tak- cant risk factor for falls in patients with primary bil- ing psychoactive drugs, which was also related to iary cirrhosis. However, very few studies focused on abnormal psychometric hepatic encephalopathy scores. balance and postural control of patients with cirrhosis. Cirrhotic patients use various psychoactive medica- Schmid et al. (2009) and Aref et al. (2012) used pos- tions for depression, fatigue, neuropsychiatric symp- turography (a gold standard method to assess postural toms of hepatic encephalopathy, and sleep disorders stability) to detect disturbances in balance and pos- ( Bianchi et al., 2005). Therefore, the possible effects of tural control in patients with liver cirrhosis. psychoactive drugs on falls should be addressed in Unfortunately, this computerized system is expensive further studies as they have side effects such as pos- and not available for every setting. Therefore, func- tural dizziness, hypotension, somnolence, motor slow- tional clinical tools such as the Berg Balance Scale, ing, attention deficits, and cognitive dysfunction, Timed Up & Go Test, Sit-To-Stand Test, or specific which may independently increase the risk for falls. questionnaires for fall risk can also be used. Soriano et al. (2012) assessed cirrhotic patients with the Timed Muscle Strength Up & Go Test and recorded longer test durations for Loss of skeletal muscle mass is one of the most com- patients categorized as “fallers” with cognitive dys- mon complications of liver cirrhosis. It affects HRQOL, function in comparison to “nonfallers.” outcomes after liver transplantation, and even survival. The term “hepatic cachexia” refers to a loss of muscle Risk Factors for Falls in Patients With mass or loss of fat mass or a combination ( Dasarathy, Liver Cirrhosis 2012 ). The multifactorial mechanism for muscle loss in liver cirrhosis has not yet been clearly defined; but, it Minimal Hepatic Encephalopathy is known that whole body protein turnover is altered Minimal hepatic encephalopathy (MHE), clinically mani- in cirrhosis. Poor dietary intake, malabsorption, fested as “cognitive dysfunction,” is one of the most increased intestinal protein loss, decreased hepatic pro- investigated parameters related to fall risk in patients tein synthesis, abnormal substrate utilization, and with cirrhosis. Soriano et al. (2012) reported a 40.4% fall hypermetabolism lead to “protein-energy malnutri- incidence in cirrhotic patients with cognitive dysfunction tion” in cirrhosis ( Peng et al., 2007 ). Energy demand is whereas it was only 6.2% in patients without cognitive supplied by muscle proteins and fats because of the dysfunction. In another retrospective study, incidence of dysfunctions in gluconeogenesis and glucose storage. falls in patients with MHE was reported as 40%. Additional effects of muscle mass loss and mito- According to the same study, primary healthcare services chondrial dysfunction decrease muscle strength and were required in 8.8% of the cases and 6.6% of the endurance in cirrhotic patients. A reduced number of patients needed hospitalization because of falls ( Roman, mitochondria and decreased mitochondrial oxidative Cordoba, Torrens, Guarner, & Soriano, 2011 ). capacity results in mitochondrial dysfunction, which is The effect of cognitive dysfunction on fall risk was thought to be one of the reasons for “peripheral also studied using posturographic analyses. Aref et al. fatigue” ( Hollingsworth et al., 2008; Jacobsen, (2012) assessed patients with dynamic posturography Hamberg, Quistorff, & Ott, 2001 ). and found a deterioration in balance control in rela- The other mechanism for muscle strength loss may tion to the degree of hepatic encephalopathy. Similarly, be hemodynamic alterations due to autonomic dys- Schmid et al. (2009) indicated a worse postural control function specifically in some etiologies of cirrhosis. in patients with hepatic encephalopathy, which was Blood pressure changes, especially relative hypoten- correlated with disease progression. sion, may result in hypoperfusion in peripheral muscles, VOLUME 40 | NUMBER