title: Viral causes and management of acute liver failure.
abstract: Infection with an identified hepatotrophic virus accounts for 13-50% of acute liver failure (ALF) in Europe, and an additional 16-17% of cases have non-A non-B or indeterminate hepatitis in whom a viral aetiology is presumed. Hepatitis C is rarely responsible for acute liver failure in Europe and North America but accounts for a higher proportion of cases in Japan, and hepatitis E may lead to ALF, particularly in pregnant women. The survival in cases of acute liver failure associated with hepatitis A is 70%, whereas less than 30% of those with non-A non-B hepatitis survive without a transplant. Management depends on intensive care support and careful selection of patients likely to benefit from transplantation. Recurrence of hepatitis A and non-A non-B hepatitis has been reported following transplantation for ALF, and hepatitis B recurs less frequently in these circumstances than after transplantation for chronic infection.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Liver Studies, King's College Hospital, London, U.K.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tibbs
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000628:therapy / Q000821:virology*; D016031:Liver Transplantation; D011379:Prognosis; D015996:Survival Rate