[Etiological analysis of 1977 patients with acute liver failure, subacute liver failure and acute-on-chronic liver failure].
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the etiology of 1977 patients from northern China with acute (ALF), sub-acute (SALF) or acute-on-chronic liver (ACLF) failures.


METHODS
The age, gender, etiology, pathogenesis, and prognosis of the 1977 patients with liver failures were retrospectively analyzed.


RESULTS
Of the 1977 cases, the three most common causes of ALF were HEV (33.96%) or HBV (13.21%) infections or those caused by medicines (9.43%). The three predominant causes of SALF were medicines (31.53%), HEV (16.22%) or HBV (9.91%) infections, but those of the ACLF were HBV (90.29%) infection, alcoholic hepatopathy (2.65%), and HBV super infected with HEV (2.26%) infections. 90.09% (1781) patients were infected by hepatotropic viruses. Of these 1781 patients, the most common cause of their liver failures was HBV infection (92.93%). In these HBV infected patients, 77.10% were from 26 to 55 years old. From 2005 to 2007, there were 39 patients with alcoholic liver failure. In the past two years, there were 23 patients with drug induced liver failure. The improvement rate of the 1977 patients after their treatments was 35.56%. The improvement rate of HEV infected liver failure was higher than drug induced liver failure (P less than 0.05); no statistical significance was found between other groups (P more than 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Different types of liver failure have different predominant causes. HBV infection is the most common cause in our 1977 patients. In the past two years, the number of drug induced liver failures and alcoholic liver failures have been increasing.
Liu
Xiao-yan
XY
Chinese PLA Postgraduate Medical School, Beijing 100039, China.
Hu
Jin-hua
JH
Wang
Hui-fen
HF
Chen
Ju-mei
JM
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D056487:Chemical and Drug Induced Liver Injury, Chronic / Q000209:etiology*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications; D016751:Hepatitis E / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D008108:Liver Diseases, Alcoholic / Q000209:etiology*; D017093:Liver Failure / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies