Liver failure is characterized by rapid progress and extremely high mortality.Glucocorticoids are currently used in the treatment of liver failure to improve the prognosis,but they have not been widely recognized.This paper reviews the advances on pathogenesis of liver failure,the timing,efficacy and adverse effects of glucocorticoids treatment,so as to increase clinician's knowledge of glucocorticoids in treatment of liver failure,in order to increase the awareness and rational administration of glucocorticoids in treatment of liver failure.

Humans ; Liver Failure ; Lymphohistiocytosis, Hemophagocytic

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OBJECTIVETo explore the effect of herbal compound 861 (Cpd 861) on MMP-2 expression and its enzymatic activities, and the antifibrotic mechanism of this herbal compound.

METHODSForty five female rats were randomly divided into normal control (sham operation) group, common bile duct ligation (BDL) group and Cpd 861 therapeutic group. In the last group, daily gastric feeding of Cpd 861 (9 g/kg.bw) started on day 7 after BDL operation. At 49 days, all animals were sacrificed and mRNA expression of MMP-2 in liver tissue was evaluated by semi-quantitive RT-PCR. In addition, enzymatic activities of MMP-2 were analyzed by zymography.

RESULTSIn comparison with model group, MMP-2 mRNA levels in Cpd 861 therapeutic group were significantly decreased. MMP-2 enzymatic activities were not detectable in normal group, slightly elevated in model group, higher in Cpd 861 therapeutic group.

CONCLUSIONSCpd 861 decreases the mRNA level of MMP-2, but transiently increases the enzymatic activities of MMP-2. The latter effect of Cpd 861 may be mediated by decreasing TIMPs, the inhibitors of MMPs, during resolution stage of fibrosis. This is probably one of the mechanisms whereby herbal Cpd 861 exerted its antifibrotic action in this kind of experimental liver fibrosis.

Animals ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Liver Cirrhosis, Experimental ; drug therapy ; enzymology ; Matrix Metalloproteinase 2 ; genetics ; metabolism ; Phytotherapy ; RNA, Messenger ; biosynthesis ; Random Allocation ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar

Although the risk of post-hepatectomy liver failure is severe and it affects the prognosis of patients,hepatectomy is the first choice for hepatocellular carcinoma patients.At present,the mechanism of liver regeneration and post-hepatectomy liver failure is unclear.In this paper,we reviewed the liver regeneration for three stages:initiation,proliferation and termination,and also reviewed the mechanism of post-hepatectomy liver failure.

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) is defined as rapid deterioration of liver function under acute attack in patients with chronic liver disease and is associated with an extremely high mortality. Since the basis of liver disease and potential pathogenic factors for acute injury are different in Chinese and Western medicine, the diagnosis remains controversial. However, there is a consensus on the fact that the condition of ACLF can be reversed, and early diagnosis and reasonable treatment can improve prognosis. This article introduces the pathophysiology of ACLF from the aspects of risk factors, predisposing factors, response after injury, and organ failure and elaborates on the reasonable management measures to improve patients′survival rate.

Currently, continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) is one of the most important means of organ support methods in critical care medicine. Anticoagulation is an essential part of the treatment process due to its prolonged duration. Patients with liver failure often have coagulation dysfunction and heparin anticoagulant can increase the risk of bleeding, but without heparin anticoagulant, coagulation can easily occur. In addition, an increased volumetric load, hemodynamic instability, nursing workload and other problems are major issues. Therefore, regional citrate anticoagulation (RCA) is the main anticoagulant method for CRRT therapy in patients with liver failure. This article reviews the mechanism, indications, advantages and disadvantages of using RCA to CRRT in hepatic failure.

Objective: To evaluate the incidence, and the characteristics of organ failure in relationship to prognosis in hepatitis B virus-associated acute-on-chronic liver failure (HBV-ACLF) patients using chronic liver failure-sequential organ failure assessment (CLIF-SOFA) score for judgments of clinical treatment and prognosis. Methods: Clinical data of 316 patients who were diagnosed as HBV-ACLF during hospitalization from February 2015 to February 2016 were retrospectively analyzed. Intrahepatic and extrahepatic organ failures were assessed according to CLIF-SOFA score, and the relationship between clinical characteristics and prognosis was analyzed. Continuity variables were analyzed by analysis of variance, or Kruskal-Wallis H test. Comparison of the categorical data were done using χ ² or Fisher's exact test, and the predictive efficacy of various prognostic scores was compared using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and Z-test. Results: Of 316 cases (87.3% men) of HBV-ACLF, the mean age was (45 ± 11) years old. 78.8% of patients with underlying liver disease had hepatitis B virus induced cirrhosis. Mortality rates in patients without liver transplantation at 28 days, 90 days and 180 days were 20.5% (63/307), 36.7% (110/300) and 39.2% (116/296), respectively. According to the CLIF-SOFA score, 89.9% (284 patients) had organ failure at baseline, of which 97.5% had liver failure (Total bilirubin ≥ 12 mg/dl) and only 2.5% had coagulation, kidney, circulation or respiratory failure without liver failure. Besides liver failure, the incidence of extrahepatic organ failure was coagulation (23.1%), kidney (5.7%), brain (3.8%), circulation (1.3%) and respiratory failure (0.3%). With increasing number of organ failure, the mortality rate of two and three or more organ failures were 69.6% and 69.2%, respectively, which was significantly higher than that of single organ failure and non-organ failure patients (27% and 6.9%, respectively; P < 0.001). Liver failure with coagulation failure (International normalized ratio≥2.5 or platelet count≤20×10⁹/L) had worst prognosis with a mortality rate of up to 75% at 90 days. Conclusion According to the CLIF-SOFA score, the main organ failure in patients with HBV-ACLF in China is liver failure. The mortality rate in patients with two or more organ failures is as high as 70% within 3 months. Therefore, timely manner liver transplantation should be considered.