Liver Transplantation for Acute Liver Failure

Raquel Olivo; James V Guarrera; Nikolaos T Pyrsopoulos

doi:10.1016/j.cld.2018.01.014

Liver Transplantation for Acute Liver Failure

Clin Liver Dis. 2018 May;22(2):409-417. doi: 10.1016/j.cld.2018.01.014.

Authors

Raquel Olivo¹, James V Guarrera², Nikolaos T Pyrsopoulos³

Affiliations

¹ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, H-532, Newark, NJ 07103, USA. Electronic address: rmo58@njms.rutgers.edu.
² Division of Liver Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, ACC Building, 140 Bergen Street. E- 1766, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.
³ Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, H-532, Newark, NJ 07103, USA.

PMID: 29605075
DOI: 10.1016/j.cld.2018.01.014

Abstract

With the advent of liver transplant for acute liver failure (ALF), survival rate has improved drastically. Liver transplant for ALF accounts for 8% of all transplant cases. The 1-year survival rates are 79% in Europe and 84% in the United States. Some patients with ALF may recover spontaneously, and approximately half will undergo liver transplant. It is imperative to identify patients with ALF as soon as possible to transfer them to a liver transplant center for a thorough evaluation. Emergent liver transplant in a patient with ALF may place the patient at risk for severe complications in the postoperative period.

Keywords: Acute liver failure; Liver transplant; Living donor liver transplant.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Humans
Liver Failure, Acute / mortality
Liver Failure, Acute / surgery*
Liver Transplantation / adverse effects
Liver Transplantation / methods*
Liver Transplantation / statistics & numerical data
Postoperative Care
Tissue Donors
Tissue and Organ Procurement