Table 2:

“Dos and Don’ts” in the Clinic.

	Do	Don’t
Health Maintenance	Assess vaccination status and general health maintenance issues (cardiovascular disease and smoking cessation)	Leave all health maintenance up to patients’ primary care providers
Pain Management	Discuss the safety of limited (2 gram/day) acetaminophen use	Prescribe NSAIDs
Nutrition	Recognize malnutrition and refer to dieticians early	Restrict protein
Quality of Life	Discuss common disabling symptoms in cirrhosis	Wait for patients to bring these issues up
Alcohol Use	Screen for alcohol use disorders in all patients	Forget to reassess over time
Ascites Management	Instruct patients on self-management, salt restriction, weight recording, and red flags	Wait until ascites becomes unbearable necessitating emergency room or hospital admissions
Hepatocellular Carcinoma	Screen with ultrasound ± serum AFP every six months	Leave patients out of screening
Liver Transplant Referral	Refer early when a patient develops decompensated cirrhosis	Wait until the patient is hospitalized in life-threatening condition
Palliative Care	Address goals of care and refer to palliative care early	Wait until patient is in a critical state

AFP = Alpha fetoprotein, NSAIDs = Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs