BACKGROUND: Fulminant hepatic failure (FHF) is characterized by the development of liver injury with decrease synthetic capacity and encephalopathy in patients with previous normal liver or, at least, well compensated liver disease. It is one of the most challenging gastrointestinal emergencies encountered in clinical practice and encompasses a pattern of clinical symptoms and pathophysiological responses associated with the rapid arrest of normal hepatic function. METHODS: A literature review was made in articles available at Pub Med site (www.pubmed.com), crossing the following headings: fulminant hepatic failure, liver transplantation e hepatitis. FHF remains a potentially devasting syndrome with a high mortality rate. The optimal care is multidisciplinary and up to half of the cases receive liver transplants, with survival rates around 75-90%. CONCLUSIONS: In spite of specific therapeutic options in distinctive etiologies, orthotopic liver transplant is the only therapy proven to improve patient survival in the majority of patients. The search for artificial liver support systems to manage patients with FHF has been unrewarding fully to date.
Liver failure, acute; Liver transplantation; Hepatitis
