ABSTRACT
The current study was conducted to determinate clinical, biological and outcome characteristics of children hospitalized for severe acute liver failure [SALF] and to identify prognosis indicators in our patients. Patients hospitalized with SALF, between January 1995 and June 2005, were reviewed retrospectively. Thirty two patients, aged from 2 months to 13 years and 7 months were studied, 72 percent for them developed encephalopathy. The main causes of SALF were viral hepatitis in 31 percent of cases, toxic and drug induced liver disease in 28 percent of cases, inherited metabolic disorders in 31 percent of cases, auto-immune hepatitis in one cases and Budd Chiari syndrome in one case. The etiology of SALF remained undetermined in 16 percent of normal, serum bilirubin level above 300 micro mol/l and the grade of encephalopathy. In the absence of liver transplantation, a total of 11 patients died from sepsis or multiple organ failure. The spontaneous prognosis of severe acute liver failure is poor with an overall mortality. Preventive treatment of viral and toxic hepatitis is one of the most effective approaches