Acute liver failure (ALF) is defined as the onset of encephalopathy and coagulopathy within 26 weeks of jaundice in a patient without prior history of liver disease
ALF has an extremely high mortality
The most common cause of ALF include Tylenol, HSV, autoimmune hepatitis, HBV, and acute fatty liver of pregnancy/HELLP
Complications EPs are likely to see/manage include hepatic encephalopathy, infection, circulatory dysfunction, bleeding, and seizures
Fungal infections may be present in one-third of patients with ALF (Candida)
Non-convulsive seizure activity occurs in a high proportion of patients with ALF and encephalopathy - consider EEG for severly encephalopathic patients and those with a sudden deterioration in neuro status
Stravitz RT, et al. Intensive care of patients with acute liver failure. Crit Care Med 2007;35:2498-2508.
