Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is a dynamic clinical syndrome with high prevalence, characterized by an acute deterioration of liver failure and high short-term mortality

Background acute-on-chronic liver failure is an abrupt deterioration of liver function in patients with preexisting chronic liver disease, usually related to a precipitating events. Aim to determine the prevalence, potential precipitating factors and to analyze the clinical-laboratory profile. Methods A total of 149 patients with liver cirrhosis, all males, with average age of 50.5±9 and the long history (more than 15 years) of excessive alcohol consumption (more than 150-180 g/ethanol/day) were enrolled. The patients were randomly divided into two group according to the presence and absence of acute-on-chronic liver failure. The clinical, laboratory and MELD score were compared between the two groups.