A liver transplant center experience with liver dialysis in the management of patients with fulminant hepatic failure:: A preliminary report

Among extracorporeal liver support devices, liver dialysis is cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be used for the management of fulminant hepatic failure (FHF). The outcomes of patients following liver dialysis need to be clearly evaluated. Among the 25 patients with FHF admitted to the Liver ICU between May 2000 and November 2002, 12 underwent liver dialysis, including 6 men and 6 women, of mean age 32 years. The causes of FHF were identified as acetaminophen (n = 10), herbal medications (n = 1) and autoimmune disease (n = 1). At presentation, the mean total bilirubin was 9.35 mg/dL (range, 0 to 1.3), mean ALT 3015 U/L (range, 0 to 48), mean AST 3457 (range, 0 to 42), mean ammonia 98 mumol/L (range, 10 to 60) and mean INR 1.88. A control group including 13 patients (2 men and 11 women), of mean age 27.8 years mean total bilirubin 5.66, mean ALT 3494, mean AST 3528, mean ammonia 113 and mean INR 3, were not treated with liver dialysis, due to the lack of machine availability or physician's choice. The causes of FHF were acute hepatitis B (n = 1), acetaminophen (n = 10) or unknown (n = 2). There was no statistically significant difference in the baseline characteristics of the two groups (P > .05). Among the liver dialysis group, 1 patient died, 2 underwent OLTx, and 9 were discharged home. Among the control group; 4 patients died, 2 underwent OLTx, and 7 were discharged home. Preliminary results seem to support survival benefit among patients who underwent liver dialysis compared to non-liver dialysis; however, further randomized control trials are warranted to verify this observation.