Hepatic Failure

Excerpt

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a complex clinical syndrome characterized by elevated liver biochemistry, coagulopathy, and hepatic encephalopathy without underlying chronic liver disease. The most frequently used classification is the one that O'Grady and collaborators proposed which divides liver failure into 3 categories based on the interval between the development of jaundice and the onset of encephalopathy as hyperacute liver failure (within 7 days), acute (interval of 1 to 4 weeks ) and subacute (5 to 12 weeks).