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Handbook of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry pp 445–464Cite as

The Liver-Impaired Patient

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Abstract

Among all organs in the human body, the liver is the largest and carries out the greatest number of functions. The liver’s important and multiple activities impact all body systems, including the nervous system. The relationship between the liver and the brain has been known for centuries (Frerichs 1860; Lewis and Howdle 2003; Tarter et al. 1989; Wilson 1912). Patients with hepatic dysfunction frequently experience neuropsychiatric syndromes, of which the most well known is hepatic encephalopathy (Ferenci et al 2002).

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Nancy W. Withers MD, PhD (Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry)

  2. VA Pacific Islands Healthcare System, 116, 459 Patterson Road, Honolulu, HI, 96819, USA

    Nancy W. Withers MD, PhD (Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry)

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  1. Nancy W. Withers MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Nancy W. Withers MD, PhD .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, Fresno Community Regional Medical Center, Fresno, California, USA

    Hoyle Leigh

  2. University of Hawaii at Manoa Department of Psychiatry, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    Jon Streltzer

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© 2015 Hoyle Leigh & Jon Streltzer

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Withers, N.W. (2015). The Liver-Impaired Patient. In: Leigh, H., Streltzer, J. (eds) Handbook of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11005-9_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-11005-9_30

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-11004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-11005-9

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