Plasma Exchange as a Rescue
Therapy for Acute Liver Failure
Published: September 1, 2021 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.7860/JCDR/2021/49865.15371
Nupur B Patel, Anand Sharma, Itish Patnaik, Ashok Kumar
1. Senior Resident, Department of Critical Care Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
2. Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
3. Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
4. Assistant Professor, Department of Gastroenterology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
Correspondence
Dr. Nupur B Patel,
Senior Resident, Department of Critical Care Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India.
E-mail: nupurbpatel@yahoo.co.in
Acute Liver Failure (ALF) is a life-threatening condition and often necessitates Liver Transplantation (LT). However, LT is not available to most patients in developing countries due to resource constraints. A 30-year-old female presented to us with ALF and fulfilled criteria for LT. The aetiology of ALF could not be diagnosed in her. Due to the lack of LT facilities, she was offered plasma exchange as a therapeutic option, which resulted in improvement in sensorium and Liver Function Tests (LFT) {bilirubin, International Normalised Ratio (INR), Aspartate Aminotransferase (AST), Alanine Aminotransferase (ALT)} over a period of two weeks. She was discharged and was doing well during follow-up. Plasma exchange is a less studied but potential treatment option for ALF when LT is not feasible.
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