Alcohol Abuse and Liver Disease

Book excerpt: For people with alcohol excess and liver disease, successful management must be two-fold with management of both their psychological/physical addiction to alcohol and their liver disease. Alcohol Abuse and liver disease, with its joint focus on hepatology and psychiatry, provides both hepatologists and psychiatrists of all levels with a practical, concise and didactic guide to the investigation and clinical management of those with alcohol-related problems. Edited by a practicing hepatologist in the UK and a practising specialist in psychiatry/substance abuse in the US, it covers areas such as: • Risk factors for alcoholic liver disease • Interaction of alcohol with other co-morbidities • Clinical assessment of alcohol intake • Detoxification and management of withdrawal • Psychotherapeutic and pharmaceutical interventions • Treatment of liver disease Key points, management diagrams and high-quality images are all be supported by the very latest in clinical guidelines from the major hepatology and psychiatry societies such as the APA, EPA, AASLD and EASL. With increasing emphasis on multi-disciplinary speciality care in this area, this is the ideal tool to consult in order to provide the best care possible care for what are very challenging patients to manage.