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April 26, 2026Diseases0 citationsOpen Access

Ocular Clues to Liver Disease: A Strategic Diagnostic Lens

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MDMuhammad DahshanHDHassan DahshanABAyhan Basoglu

Key Points

  • Evaluate ocular manifestations associated with liver diseases to aid diagnosis and prognosis.
  • Conducted a narrative review of articles from 2000 to 2025
  • Searched PubMed and Google Scholar using specific terms related to liver and ocular diseases
  • Included 59 authoritative references addressing ocular manifestations of hepatic conditions.
  • Identified a range of ocular findings related to congenital and acquired liver diseases.
  • Highlighted conditions such as Wilson disease and hepatitis B/C with specific ocular signs.
  • Emphasized the need for screening in at-risk populations to improve early diagnosis.

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Hepatic diseases frequently present with ocular manifestations that aid diagnosis, provide prognostic data, and guide therapy. Despite the clear utility of the liver–eye axis, the literature lacks reviews that categorize these manifestations by etiology. This review evaluates current evidence to identify ocular findings that serve as clinical tools for diagnosis, prognosis, and therapeutic monitoring of hepatic pathologies. Methods: A narrative review was conducted using PubMed and Google Scholar to identify English-language articles addressing ocular manifestations associated with liver disease. The primary search encompassed publications from 2000 to 2025, with inclusion of select foundational works published prior to 2000 when they represented seminal studies establishing diagnostic criteria, pathophysiological mechanisms, or natural history data not superseded by subsequent research. Search terms included combinations of liver, hepatic, hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholestasis, eye, ocular, retina, cornea, sclera, conjunctiva, ophthalmic manifestations, and specific disease names. All study designs were eligible. Society guidelines, systematic reviews, and studies from high-impact journals were prioritized. The final selection comprised 59 references representing the most authoritative sources across the spectrum of hepatic conditions. Results: A spectrum of ocular findings linked to distinct hepatic conditions was identified. Manifestations with established clinicopathologic associations were categorized into congenital and acquired etiologies. Congenital liver pathologies included metabolic disorders (Wilson disease, galactosemia, lysosomal storage disorders) and syndromic/genetic causes (Alagille syndrome, hereditary hemochromatosis). Acquired liver diseases encompassed infectious (hepatitis B/C), drug-induced and iatrogenic (interferon, immune checkpoint inhibitors), nutritional (vitamin A deficiency), neoplastic (metastatic hepatocellular carcinoma), and cirrhotic causes. Conclusions: Specific ocular signs raise clinical suspicion for underlying liver disease and warrant targeted hepatic evaluation. Recognizing these associations facilitates earlier diagnosis and improves outcomes. Systematic screening for these signs is supported in at-risk populations, and prospective validation studies should establish their sensitivity and specificity.

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Cite This Study

Dahshan et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69edacbd4a46254e215b475chttps://doi.org/10.3390/diseases14050152
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