Acute Liver Failure

Machine perfusion (MP) has become routine clinical practice in liver transplantation. However, as the field has matured, direct randomized comparisons between distinct MP modalities have become increasingly impractical, given that donor and graft characteristics often predetermine the optimal preservation strategy. Consequently, many studies continue to reference historical benchmark cohorts from the pre-perfusion era, or use risk scores developed before routine utilization of MP. These cohorts, while once valuable, fail to account for the paradigm shift that MP has introduced. Likewise, commonly used donor- and recipient-based risk scores were developed prior to the adoption of MP. While these scores aim to assess survival or morbidity after transplantation, none of them guide decisions about MP use or the most suitable perfusion protocol. As MP technologies continue to evolve there is a critical need for an updated reference framework that accurately reflects current clinical practice and captures the best achievable outcomes across all MP modalities.

TReatment for ImmUne Mediated PathopHysiology (TRIUMPH) is a multi-center, three arm, randomized, controlled trial of immunosuppressive therapy for children with acute liver failure. The study will determine if suppressing inflammatory responses with either corticosteroids or equine anti-thymocyte globulin therapy improves survival for children with this rare, life-threatening condition.

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare but life-threatening condition with high mortality. Despite advances in supportive care and liver transplantation, prognosis varies significantly across etiologies, particularly in patients with indeterminate causes. This study aims to investigate the dynamic changes of clinical and biochemical indicators, identify potential etiologies-especially in indeterminate ALF-and evaluate prognostic risk factors. A dynamic prediction model will be developed to optimize clinical decision-making, including liver transplantation timing. Both retrospective and prospective cohorts will be included. Multi-omics analyses (including transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and metagenomic sequencing) will be performed on liver tissue and biological samples to explore disease mechanisms and etiology.

Acute liver failure is a multisystem disorder characterized by a syndrome of jaundice, coagulopathy, and encephalopathy with high mortality in the absence of liver transplantation. The pathogenesis of multiorgan failure (MOF) in ALF has been attributed to the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) from injured hepatic cells and microbial pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) in the presence of superimposed infection or bacterial translocation.The innate immune cells activated by PAMPs and DAMPs produce pro-inflammatory cytokines \[interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1b, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-a)\]. Studies indicate that the removal of inflammatory mediators appears to play a role in the treatment of ALF and are removed by some apheresis techniques. Hence therapeutic exchange (TPE) has been used as adjunct or standalone therapy for bridging patients to recovery or LT. TPE to treat liver failure involves two steps-removal of plasma from a patient with liver failure and replacing this with equal volume of fluid; in view of the coagulopathy seen in liver failure patients, the preferred fluid for replacement is fresh frozen plasma. Different doses of PLEX have been used to treat liver failure patients with high, standard or low volume PLEX, to treat ALF. Presently American Apheresis Society guidelines consider High Volume TPE (HV-TPE) as first line the management of ALF. But HV-TPE, apart from strain on blood bank resources (large volumes of fresh frozen plasma needed), also carries risk of transfusion associated acute lung complications, risk of blood borne virus infection, and so on make the use of low-volume PLEX attractive compared to high-volume PLEX. Hence this study is being carried out to consider the safety and efficacy of standard volume plasma exchange (SV-TPE) vs. HV-TPE in Pediatric ALF.

The artificial liver support system (ALSS) in patients with acute on chronic liver failure - the use of combined molecular adsorption system with double plasma (DPMAS) and therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE), its effect on primary coagulation, inflammation and the function of vital organs.

This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled PhaseⅡ clinical trial . The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the safety of F573 for injection in patients with liver injury (drug-induced liver injury (DILI), chronic hepatitis B (CHB), intrahepatic cholestatic liver injury, etc.).

In this prospective randomized controlled trial Investigator aim to evaluate the impact of high versus standard volume plasma-exchange in patients with acute liver failure with cerebral edema and clinical outcomes. ALF who meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria within the first 12 hours will be randomized into two groups Interventional - High-volume plasma exchange Active Comparator - Standard volume plasma exchange Expected outcome of the project-. 1. Primary end points: Time to improvement in cerebral edema 2. Secondary end points: To study the adverse events of therapy (volume overload, pulmonary complications, allergic reactions) etc. Transplant-free survival at day 21

Registry intended to provide a data repository and reporting infrastructure for the surveillance of CytoSorb device use in real-world critical care settings, and to serve as an objective, comprehensive, and scientifically-based resource to measure and improve the quality of patient care

Context Acute liver failure (ALF) is a life-threatening condition that occurs on the background of a healthy liver. The most common cause of acute liver failure in the UK is paracetamol overdose. Acute liver failure results from liver damage and activation of the body's inflammatory defences with subsequent damage to other organs including kidneys, lungs and heart. This often requires life support in an intensive care unit before liver transplantation (LT), the only currently available and effective rescue treatment for acute liver failure. Challenge Patient factors and organ availability limit who can benefit from liver transplant. At present there are no effective alternative therapies for patients who do not get a liver transplant, and survival rates in these situations are poor. The underlying mechanisms of inflammation are poorly understood, thus therapies are limited. Aim The investigators research aims to understand the mechanisms that underpin the inflammation seen in acute liver failure by studying the inflammatory cells in the blood and examining their cellular programmes. This will allow the investigators to identify pathways that are activated and understand how the liver and blood interact to spread inflammation around the body. The investigators aim to identify targets for disease-modifying therapies to avert the need for liver transplant. Importance Understanding how the body responds to acute liver failure, and whether there are different patterns of inflammatory response, will enable trials of immune-modulating drugs to prevent the need for liver transplantation or prolong the time a patient can wait for an organ. This has the potential to help improve organ availability for other patients and save lives in acute liver failure.

Research Background: Pediatric acute liver failure (PALF) refers to the sudden onset of severe liver injury in children without known chronic liver disease, leading to multi-system organ dysfunction, with a mortality rate as high as 50%-70%. The etiology of PALF is complex and varied, including infections, metabolic disorders, and toxins. In developed countries, it is often caused by drug and toxin exposure, while in developing countries, viral infections are the primary cause. Additionally, 30%-50% of PALF cases have an unknown etiology, which increases the difficulty of treatment. Current treatment options include medical management, artificial liver support, and liver transplantation. Liver transplantation is the only proven effective treatment, but issues such as organ shortages and the timing of transplantation affect treatment outcomes. Improving diagnostic capabilities for the etiology and exploring optimal treatment strategies are of significant importance in enhancing the clinical success rate of PALF management. Research Objective: To explore the etiology and prognostic factors of pediatric acute liver failure (PALF), analyze the relationship between different causes of PALF and prognosis, and the relationship between different treatment modalities and prognosis. This study aims to investigate the correlation between etiology, treatment methods, and outcomes, providing scientific evidence to improve the precision in diagnosis and treatment of PALF and to enhance decision-making and timing judgments for liver transplantation.

Wilson disease in children has a varied presentation. Wilson disease with acute liver failure is associated with very high mortality and morbidity. The standard therapy i.e chelation (with either D- penicillamine or trientene can be used as a temporizing agent to treat the enormous release of copper into the blood stream; however, substantial removal is not achieved for at least 1 to 3 months. Plasma exchange provides a means of rapid means of removal of copper. As per American Society for Apheresis, TPE in wilson disease with acute liver failure can rapidly remove an average of 20 mg of copper per TPE treatment. Decreased serum copper may decrease hemolysis, prevent progression of kidney failure and provide clinical stabilization. TPE can also remove large molecular weight toxins (aromatic amino acids, ammonia, endotoxins) and other factors, which may be responsible for hepatic coma. The frequency of said TPE is not defined as most evidence is based on case reports and case series. Copper is highly protein bound and the volume of distribution for copper is large. Under normal conditions, 90-95% of serum copper is ceruloplasmin-bound with the remaining 5-10% being nonceruloplasmin-bound. TPE efficiently removes both ceruloplasmin- and albumin-bound copper. FFP used for exchange can be helpful in treating the associated coagulopathy. TPE has been used as a bridge to liver transplantation as well as seen to improve survival with native liver, the optimum protocol for same remains uncertain.