Treatment of acute liver failure: hybrid liver support. A critical overview.
Hybrid liver support systems, which combine living cells of the liver in an extracorporeal circuit, have entered the first clinical trials in patients with acute liver failure. The goal of the different developments is to provide within a few hours a biological support of the patient's failing liver. Different technical solutions can be found to provide a sufficient functional mass of liver cells to the patient. Within this article, the biotechnical and clinical backgrounds of these developments are discussed, initial clinical results are summarized and an evaluation of this method as experimental treatment is given.
Busse
B
B
Chirurgische Universitätsklinik, Virchow-Klinikum, Berlin.
Smith
M D
MD
Gerlach
J C
JC
D000818:Animals; D005112:Extracorporeal Circulation; D006801:Humans; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000628:therapy; D019164:Liver, Artificial