| dc.description.abstract | Abstract
Acute liver failure is a critical medical condition defined
as rapid development of hepatic dysfunction associated
with encephalopathy. The prognosis in these patients
is highly variable and depends on the etiology, interval
between jaundice and encephalopathy, age, and the
degree of coagulopathy. Determining the prognosis for
this population is vital. Unfortunately, prognostic models
with both high sensitivity and specificity for prediction
of death have not been developed. Liver transplantation
has dramatically improved survival in patients with
acute liver failure. Still, 25% to 45% of patients will
survive with medical treatment. The identification of
patients who will eventually require liver transplantation
should be carefully addressed through the combination
of current prognostic models and continuous medical
assessment. The concerns of inaccurate selection for
transplantation are significant, exposing the recipient
to a complex surgery and lifelong immunosuppression.
In this challenging scenario, where organ shortage
remains one of the main problems, alternatives to
conventional orthotopic liver transplantation, such
as living-donor liver transplantation, auxiliary liver
transplant, and ABO-incompatible grafts, should
be explored. Although overall outcomes after liver
transplantation for acute liver failure are improving,
they are not yet comparable to elective transplantation. | en_US |
