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K72.79: Hepatic encephalopathy, unspecified

As a result of the liver failure, your brain is not able to work properly.

The liver is an important organ on the top right of the abdomen. Nutrients from food are processed in the liver. Fats and sugars are formed and stored in the liver. The liver is thus involved in the metabolism. The liver also produces many proteins for the body. The proteins are important for blood clotting, for example. Other proteins transport substances around the body or keep the fluid in the blood vessels. The liver also helps to detoxify the body. The liver produces bile fluid so that toxic substances can be excreted. Bile fluid is also important for digesting fats.

The liver can be damaged for instance if it has a poor blood supply. The liver can also be damaged by congenital metabolic diseases. The liver may get so badly damaged that part of the liver tissue dies off.

Your liver is no longer able to perform its normal tasks. When the liver no longer adequately fulfills its functions, this is also called liver failure.

Liver failure leaves you seriously ill. The waist circumference can increase a lot and the abdomen can hurt. The skin may often look yellow. You may have severe bleeding with even minor injuries.

Your damaged liver is no longer able to properly detoxify your body. As a result, toxic substances have also accumulated in your blood. Your brain was damaged as a result.

Additional indicator

On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.

  • G: Confirmed diagnosis
  • V: Tentative diagnosis
  • Z: Condition after
  • A: Excluded diagnosis
  • L: Left
  • R: Right
  • B: Both sides

Further information

Note

This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.
Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.

Source

Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).