A study of Acute Liver Failure in adults in a tertiary care hospital

Abstract

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a condition with rapid deterioration of liver function resulting in hepatic encephalopathy and/or coagulopathy in patients with previously normal liver. Acute liver failure (ALF) is an uncommon condition associated with high morbidity and mortality. The prognosis is poor for untreated cases of Acute liver failure, so early recognition and management of patients with acute liver failure is crucial. A cause for acute liver failure can be identified in 60 to 80 percent of patients. Identifying the underlying cause of the liver failure is important because it influences the approach to management and provides prognostic information. Aims and Objectives: The aim of our study is to identify the clinical features, etiology and outcome of acute liver failure in a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: This study is an observational study where patients with Acute Liver Failure admitted in ICU in our institution after meeting the diagnostic criteria for Acute liver failure were included in the study. Details of history, relevant symptoms and baseline investigations included, complete blood count, blood glucose, renal function test, serum electrolytes, liver function test (LFT), prothrombin time, international normalized ratio (INR), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine kinase (CK)], arterial blood gas analysis, arterial lactate, arterial ammonia, amylase and lipase level and pregnancy test (if female) and ultrasonography (USG) abdomen were recorded, MRI brain and other investigations relevant to the admission diagnosis, co morbidities and aetiology if needed were recorded. All the patients received standard supportive treatment for ALF. Results: In this study of 57 patients, majority of the patients were from the age group 41 to 50 years (17 patients) and 31 to 40 years (13 patients). 36 patients were male and 21 patients were females. Jaundice and encephalopathy was observed in all 57 (100%) patients, 24 (42%) patients had INR >2.5, 27 (47%) patients had serum creatinine >1.2 mg/dl and 18 (31.5%) patients had serum ammonia levels >100 micromol/L. The lowest value for serum aminotranferase was observed in infections (other than viral hepatitis) and maximum value was observed in drugs leading to ALF.In 20 (35%) patients viral hepatitis was the cause for ALD, followed by drugs and toxins which was the cause of ALD in 18 (31.5%) patients. Infections other viral hepatitis as the aetiology for ALF was observed in 16 (28%) of patients. Ischemic hepatitis was observed in 1 and Wilson’s disease was noted in 2 patients. Total 6 (10.5%) patients out of 57 patients had died, 4 patients with hepatitis B infection, 1 patient with paracetamol over dosage and 1 patient with dengue fever had died. Conclusion: Viral hepatitis and drugs are the commonest cause for acute liver failure. The aetiology of ALF varies significantly worldwide. Determining the etiology of acute liver failure requires a combination of detailed history taking and investigations. A broad evaluation is required to identify a cause of the acute liver failure, as the prognosis is poor in untreated cases of acute liver failure, so early recognition and management of patients with acute liver failure is crucial.