Falla hepática aguda / Acute liver failure

La falla hepática aguda es la pérdida súbita de la función hepática en un corto plazo en un paciente sin enfermedad hepática previa, que se acompaña de coagulopatía y encefalopatía. Es una entidad rara con una incidencia muy baja que afecta especialmente a personas jóvenes. La principal causa en países desarrollados es la toxicidad por acetaminofén, mientras que en los países subdesarrollados son las hepatitis virales. El curso natural de la enfermedad es la progresión rápida a muerte por falla orgánica multisistémica, sepsis o edema cerebral. Después del diagnóstico, los pacientes deben remitirse tempranamente a la unidad de cuidado intensivo y a centros que ofrezcan trasplante hepático. La supervivencia sin trasplante hepático hasta hace pocos años era menor al 15%; sin embargo, en la actualidad puede ser hasta del 50%, dependiendo de la causa, y está relacionada con tratamientos específicos, la disponibilidad de trasplante hepático y una atención óptima en las unidades de cuidados intensivos. El trasplante hepático se constituye en el tratamiento de elección para los pacientes con falla hepática aguda y criterios de mal pronóstico del King's College.

Acute liver failure is the severe short-term liver function impairment in a patient without previous liver disease, which is accompanied by coagulopathy and encephalopathy. It is a rare condition with a very low incidence that affects young people. The leading cause in developed countries is acetaminophen toxicity, while in developing countries is mainly caused by viral hepatitis. The natural course is characterized by a rapid progression to death due to multisystemic organ failure, sepsis, or cerebral edema. After diagnosis, patients must be transferred to the intensive care unit and liver transplantation centers. Survival without liver transplantation until a few years ago was less than 15%; however, currently it can be up to 50% depending on the cause, and it is related to specific treatments, availability of liver transplantation and optimal care in the intensive care units. Liver transplantation is the treatment of choice for patients with acute liver failure and King's College criteria for poor prognosis.

Clinical features of patients with fulminant hepatitis A requiring emergency liver transplantation: comparison with acute liver failure due to other causes / 대한간학회지

BACKGROUND/AIMS: According to recent prevalence of hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, acute liver failure (ALF) due to HAV infection is observed frequently in parallel. The aim of this study was to elucidate the clinical, laboratory, and pathologic features of patients who have undergone emergency liver transplantation (LT) due to fulminant HAV infection. METHODS: Clinical, laboratory, and pathologic data of 11 transplant recipients with anti-HAV IgM-positive ALF between December 2007 and May 2009 were analyzed, and compared with data of 10 recipients who underwent LT for the management of ALF due to other causes. RESULTS: The median age of the patients with HAV-related ALF was 34 years (range: 15-43 years). The levels of hemoglobin, aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and creatinine were higher and the level of bilirubin was lower in the HAV-related ALF group than in the other group (P=0.005, 0.001, 0.001, 0.010, and 0.003, respectively). The time from the onset of initial symptoms to the development of encephalopathy was shorter in the HAV-related ALF group than in the other group (median 5 days, range: 4-13 days; P<0.001). In patients with HAV-related ALF, laboratory findings and clinical prognostic parameters including the Acute Liver Failure Study Group prognostic index, King's College criteria, and model for endstage liver disease (MELD) and Child-Pugh scores were not associated with the grade of hepatic encephalopathy or time of progression to encephalopathy. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study indicate that the clinical condition of patients with HAV-related ALF requiring emergency LT aggravates rapidly. Prognostic parameters are not sufficient for discriminating transplant candidates in patients with fulminant hepatitis A.