Favorable Effect of New Artificial Liver Support on Survival of Patients with Fulminant Hepatic Failure

Abstract: The two most serious symptoms of fulminant hepatic failure are bleeding and hepatic coma. To overcome these problems, we developed an artificial liver support system comprising a combination of plasma exchange and hemodiafiltration using a high performance membrane. We treated 67 patients with fulminant hepatic failure. Of these, 65 patients (97.0%) regained normal consciousness, and 55 patients (80.9%) were kept alert as long as we continued to apply this system. All 7 patients (100%) with fulminant hepatitis caused by hepatitis A virus infection and 9 of 12 patients (75%) with fulminant hepatitis caused by acute hepatitis B (HB) virus infection survived. In addition, 7 of 15 HB virus carriers (46.7%) who developed fulminant hepatitis and 11 of 29 patients (37.9%) with fulminant hepatitis caused by non-A, non-B hepatitis viruses survived. The overall survival rate was 37 of 67 patients (55.2%). Our artificial liver support system allows as high a survival rate as liver transplantation.