Acute Decompensated Liver: When to Transplant?

Abstract

Currently, liver transplant (LT) is only the effective treatment for an acute decompensated liver. Yet, a result of LT in the background of acute decompensated liver largely depends upon the cause of decompensation. Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) should not be confused with acute liver failure (ALF), where a patient with ACLF presents with a distinct clinical feature than ALF and often requires LT as the only definitive treatment option. However, ACLF patients are generally not listed for the emergency LT due to advanced age, ongoing sepsis, multiple organ failures and active alcoholism. Then again, about 40% of the patients with ALF recover spontaneously with medical care and hence do not need LT. In between these all perplexities and contentions, it’s critical to comprehend the clinical course of liver failure. In addition, physicians should also understand when it is necessary to enlist a patient for LT and which patient are likely to get benefit from LT. Thus, utilizing a “golden window” time for LT before the development of multi-organ failure. In this chapter, we focus on the current situation of LT for ALF and ACLF and further discuss the current decision making strategies used to indicate LT in this difficult clinical scenario.