A substantial number of patients with liver failure are admitted to the intensive care unit; thus a thorough understanding of the prevention and treatment of complications in such patients is imperative. The management of liver failure is demanding and often involves the combined efforts of many specialists. Critically ill patients with hepatic failure encompass a broad spectrum of disease, ran...

Thirteen out of 17 patients with fulminant hepatic failure had plasma fibronectin concentrations below the normal range (194--472 micrograms/ml), the mean concentration in all 17 patients being 117.9 +/- SE 19.4 micrograms/ml. There was a significant negative correlation between plasma fibronectin concentration and aspartate aminotransferase activity, suggesting that fibronectin is consumed dur...

Forty patients with terminal cirrhosis and 40 patients with fulminant hepatic failure-all consecutively admitted-were studied with regard to incidence, types, and prognosis of complicating renal insufficiency. Renal failure was considered present when the serum creatinine was greater than 0.20 mmol/l. Of the patients with cirrhosis 26 (65%) developed renal failure. In 15 the type was functional...

To date, dialysis for acute hepatic failure has been tested on only a small number of patients in the world. Various dialysis methods for hepatic failure are intended to be used as a life supporting intervention while waiting for access to a liver suitable for transplantation. Without treatment, the patient would die within a few days. Currently there are three ways to perform liver dialysis. W...

To document the clinical features and complications of fulminant hepatic failure in childhood, 31 consecutive cases (ofwhom only 9 survived) were reviewed. Of 26 children with acute hepatitis (HbSAg-negative), liver function steadily deteriorated in all but 2, and encephalopathy occurred within 3 weeks of the onset of symptoms in all except 3 of them. Eight of these patients survived, as did on...