Liver Failure

From Anvita Health Wiki

Contents 1 More Specific Terms 2 Etiology 3 Pathology 4 Laboratory 5 Management 6 More General Terms 7 References

More Specific Terms

• acute liver failure (ALF)
• cirrhosis

Etiology

• hepatic cirrhosis is the classic example

Pathology

• inability of the liver to produce sufficient proteins for normal homeostatic metabolic processes, including:

• osmotic pressure ( albumin)
• coagulation
• drug metabolism

Laboratory

• serum transaminases may be normal
• serum cholesterol is generally low
• INR is elevated
• serum albumin is generally low

Management

• decrease protein intake to < 1 g/kg/day only if hepatic encephalopathy is present
• liver transplantation, see cirrhosis

More General Terms

• liver disease

References

1. Medical Knowledge Self Assessment Program (MKSAP) 15, American College of Physicians, Philadelphia 2009

liver (hepatic) failure/insufficiency