Can pneumonia cause liver failure?

Question

Hello doctor,

My brother was diagnosed with hepatitis B last year, and now he has pneumonia on top of that. He is only 28, but it looks like he is aged 10 years overnight. His skin is still pale yellow from the hepatitis. Will this new infection cause more complications for his liver? He has been taking his liver medicines regularly, but we do not know if the antibiotics for the pneumonia might affect his liver function. What should we be watching out for?

Kindly suggest.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

The new infection will not cause any problems for his liver. Also, the antibiotics will not affect his liver function. I have some questions, though. Are you sure it is hepatitis your brother is having, or is it liver cirrhosis or liver cancer?

The probable causes: Immunosuppressed, and he is more susceptible to infections.

Investigations to be done:

Chest X-ray.
Abdominal CT (computed tomography) scan.
Liver function test.

Differential diagnosis:

Liver cirrhosis (advanced stage of liver fibrosis caused by chronic liver damage).
Primary liver cell cancer (the most common type of primary liver cancer).

Probable diagnosis: Pneumonia in a background patient with Hepatitis B infection rules out liver cirrhosis, PLCC (primary liver cell carcinoma).

Treatment plan:

Oral Amoxiclav 1 g 12 hourly for one week.
Oral Azithromycin 500 mg daily for 3 days.

Preventive measures: Hepatitis should probably be evaluated with a pneumococcal vaccine.

I hope this helps.

Kindly follow up if you have more concerns.

Thank you.