COMMENTARY
See article on page 576
The failing malignant liver
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
Acute liver failure, defined as hepatic encephalopathy developing within 12 weeks of jaundice in the absence of a previous history of symptomatic liver disease,1 is a medical emergency. Accurate recognition of the underlying disease is crucial to enable specific therapy, when available, to be instituted. Rowbotham et al (see page 576), in the most comprehensive examination of this topic to date, discuss the importance of malignant hepatic infiltration as a cause of acute liver failure. This is, however, an undoubtedly rare cause for this presentation in the UK, responsible for only 0.44% of all cases of liver failure admitted to the King's Unit since 1978.
This syndrome can occur in a number of scenarios. Firstly and most
importantly, patients with no previous history of malignancy may
develop fulminant liver failure and present as a diagnostic problem.
Secondly, acute liver failure may develop in a patient with previously
diagnosed malignancy but without
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- Acute liver failure secondary to hepatic infiltration: a single centre experience of 18 cases
- D Rowbotham, J Wendon, and R Williams
Gut 1998 42: 576-580.[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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