Nursing Care For Patients With Cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis represents a major cause of morbidity and mortality, causes a marked impairment of quality of life of patients and their caregivers, and causes a major burden for health systems. Currently, nurses still play in most countries a limited role in the care of patients with cirrhosis which is mainly restricted to the care of patients hospitalized for acute complications of the disease. The current manuscript reviews the established and potential new and innovative roles that nurses can play in the care of patients with liver cirrhosis. In the hospital setting, specialized nurses become an integral part of interprofessional teams to improve the quality of care and outcomes of patients with cirrhosis. In the primary care setting, nurses should play an important role in the care of patients with compensated cirrhosis and also facilitate early diagnosis of cirrhosis in subjects at risk of liver diseases. This review calls for an improved global liver diseases education program for nurses and increased awareness among all healthcare providers and policy makers of the positive impacts of advanced or specialist nursing practice in this domain.