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Acute Liver Failure in the ICU

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Intensive Care Medicine

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Abstract

Acute liver failure is a rare clinical syndrome resulting from severe hepatocyte injury, usually in the absence of pre-existing chronic liver disease. It is characterized by the onset of encephalopathy following the liver injury; jaundice is present in most patients but, in cases of hyperacute liver failure, encephalopathy may precede clinical jaundice. The prognosis in acute liver failure is variable, with mortality ranging from 10–90% without transplantation. The important factors determining outcome are principally: underlying etiology, age of the patient and time course over which the syndrome develops [1].

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Authors
  1. E. Sizer
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  2. J. Wendon
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  3. W. Bernal
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Intensive Care, Erasme Hospital, Free University of Brussels, Route de Lennik 808, B-1070, Brussels, Belgium

    Jean-Louis Vincent MD, PhD, FCCM, FCCP (Head) (Head)

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Sizer, E., Wendon, J., Bernal, W. (2003). Acute Liver Failure in the ICU. In: Vincent, JL. (eds) Intensive Care Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5548-0_78

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5548-0_78

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-5550-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-5548-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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