Etiopathogenesis of acute hepatic failure: Eastern versus Western countries.
Etiopathogenesis of acute hepatic failure (AHF) in Eastern and Western countries is distinct. In the East hepatitis viruses cause AHF in more than 95% of such cases, while causes of AHF in the West are quite heterogenous. Hepatitis E virus is the major etiological agent of AHF in countries like India where the virus is hyperendemic. Occult HBV infection may also be causing AHF in a sizable proportion of cases in areas where chronic HBV infection frequency is high. Paracetamol causes AHF in about 70% cases in the UK and about 20% cases in USA, whereas in France and Denmark, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are more frequently associated with AHF. Hepatitis B virus causes AHF in about one-third of cases in the latter two countries.
Acharya
S K
SK
Department of Gastroenterology and Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India. subratacharya@hotmail.com
Batra
Y
Y
Hazari
S
S
Choudhury
V
V
Panda
S K
SK
Dattagupta
S
S
D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D014481:United States