Recent studies have revealed liver dysfunction as an early event in sepsis. Sepsis-associated liver dysfunction is mainly resulted from systemic or microcirculatory disturbances, spillovers of bacteria and endotoxin (lipopolysaccharide, LPS), and subsequent activation of inflammatory cytokines as well as mediators. Three main cell types of the liver which contribute to the hepatic response in s...

Preeclampsia, HELLP syndrome (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low-platelet count), and acute fatty liver of pregnancy are the main causes of thrombotic microangiopathy and evere liver dysfunction during pregnancy and represent different manifestations of the same pathological continuum. The case of a 35-week pregnant woman who was admitted to an intensive care unit immediately after a Ce...

Total parenteral nutrition (TPN) is an artificial way to support daily nutritional requirements by bypassing the digestive system, but long-term TPN administration may cause severe liver dysfunction. Glycyrrhizin is an active component of licorice root that has been widely used to treat chronic hepatitis. The aim of this study is to investigate the hepatoprotective effect of glycyrrhizin on TPN...

A 41-year-old man with a history of hyperthyroidism had been treated with methimazole and propranolol for the past 2 months. He developed multiorgan dysfunction with acute liver failure, severe lactic acidosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, heart failure and acute pulmonary edema with rapid deterioration of renal function. The patient had no history of alcoholism, drug abuse, blood tr...

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) incorporates a spectrum of neuropsychiatric abnormalities seen in patients with liver dysfunction with a potential for full reversibility. Distinct syndromes are identified in acute liver failure and cirrhosis. Rapid deterioration in consciousness level and increased intracranial pressure that may result in brain herniation and death are a feature of acute liver fail...

PURPOSE OF REVIEW This article reviews the current literature dealing with pathophysiology, diagnostics, bleeding management, and thromboprophylaxis in patients with acute and chronic liver dysfunction. RECENT FINDINGS Routine coagulation tests such as prothrombin time and International Normalized Ratio (INR) are not able to define whether a patient with critical liver dysfunction is hypocoag...

SINCE the introduction of cyclosporine (CsA)-steroid therapy for our liver transplant recipients in March 1980, the survival rates have increased significantly as shown in Fig 1. The effective and relatively safe immunosuppression provided by CsA is undoubtedly the most important factor in the improved success rate. l N~'phrotoxicity is a troublesome side effect of CsA. The distinction between ...

Minimal hepatic dysfunction can be common in acute Q fever, but severe acute cholestatic hepatitis is rarely reported. We report on a 55-year-old male with acute Q fever and severe acute cholestatic hepatitis. He complained of fever, jaundice, ascites, and restlessness on admission. A liver biopsy revealed the presence of compact fibrin-ring granulomas. Serologic titers for C. burnetii IgM and ...

A twenty-year-old woman with anorexia nervosa (body mass index=11) suffered from severe liver dysfunction (aspartate aminotransferase 5,000 IU/l, alanine aminotransferase 3,980 IU/l, prothrombin time 32%), hypoglycemia (serum glucose 27 mg/dl), and pancreatic dysfunction (amylase 820 IU/l, lipase 558 IU/l). She fell into a depressive state with irritability, which was not improved by intravenou...