الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Acute liver failure refers to the rapid development of severe acute liver injury with impaired synthetic function and encephalopathy in a person who previously had a normal liver or a well compensated liver disease. This catastrophic illness can rapidly progress to coma and death from cerebral edema and multiorgan dysfunction. The commonest causes are paracetamol, idiosyncratic drug reactions, hepatitis B, and cryptogenic. Many ALF patients will not survive without orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Several criteria had been proposed to help taking the challenging decision to transplant (e.g. Clichy, King’s College Hospital criteria) Auxiliary heterotopic and living donor liver transplantation had been performed in certain cases as an alternative approach to OLT. Liver support systems had been developed trying to replace liver functions till recovery or as a bridge to liver transplantation. They divide broadly into artificial, bioartificial or extracorporeal hepatic perfusion. Hepatocyte transplantation had been tried as an alternative to OLT but no satisfying results till now. It does not involve surgical procedure and hepatocytes from single donor can be used for more than one recipient. |