Outcomes of liver transplantation for patients with acute liver failure.
BACKGROUND
Liver transplantation is a treatment for patients who have acute liver failure (ALF). This study aims to evaluate the outcomes following liver transplantation in patients with ALF and compare them with cirrhotic patients who underwent liver transplantation.


METHODS
This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted at Shiraz Organ Transplant Center between June 2004 and March 2011 to evaluate the clinical presentation and underlying etiology of patients with ALF and their outcomes following liver transplantation.


RESULTS
Out of 750 patients who underwent liver transplants, 12 (8 males and 4 females) had a diagnosis of ALF. The cirrhotic group (control) consisted of 20 transplanted patients. ALF patients were younger with a mean age of 18.7 ± 12.9 years compared to 37.4 ± 13.6 years in the cirrhotic group (P = 0.001). In the ALF group, 5 (41.66%) underwent partial living related liver transplantation compared to 1 (5%) in the cirrhotic group (P = 0.018). There were significantly more early post-transplant complications observed among patients with ALF compared to the cirrhotic group (P = 0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
Liver transplantation is safe, effective and should be considered in patients diagnosed with ALF.
Health Policy Research Center, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Kamran Bagheri
KB
Lankarani
Kavus
K
Eshraghian
Seyed Ali
SA
Malek-Hosseini
Parisa
P
Janghorban
Bita
B
Geramizadeh
Ahad
A
Eshraghian
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000601:surgery; D017114:Liver Failure, Acute / Q000601:surgery*; D016031:Liver Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome