Liver Failure Treatment

The liver is the largest gland in the body and one of the most important ones as well. The liver is responsible for many functions, like carrying out the metabolism of fats in the body and removing toxins from the body. The liver enzymes also maintain systemic levels of various other elements in the blood and the body. Thus, when normal liver function fails, the functioning of all the systems in the body gets severely affected, which can prove to be fatal. So before we go on to liver failure treatment, it is necessary to understand what causes liver failure.

Causes of Liver Failure

There are various causes of liver failure. One of the most common causes of liver failure is overdose of acetaminophen (paracetamol), which is a drug that is known to cause liver damage symptoms. Sometimes, idiosyncratic reactions to certain medications can also lead to chronic liver failure. Alcohol is notorious for causing fatty liver disease, which may eventually lead to liver failure, if consumption of alcohol continues unabated. Other causes of liver failure include viral infections of the liver, like hepatitis. Liver damage also occurs in Reye syndrome. Symptoms of acute liver failure can also show up as a complication during pregnancy. Furthermore, sometimes, liver failure may be idiopathic in nature.

Treatment Options for Liver Failure

General Measures
The general measures that are undertaken as a part of acute liver failure treatment, include hospital admittance on a priority basis. This is because to counter liver damage signs, intensive care is required. First and foremost, the person needs supportive treatment in the form of adequate nourishment. In fact, in cases of liver damage, the person needs to closely watch hos diet, as the liver is not in a condition to manage the glucose and fats ingested into the body. Hence, patients suffering from acute liver failure, are fed only by intravenous modes. Furthermore, the protein and fat consumption is highly restricted. Fluid balance and mechanical ventilation also needs to be maintained in such cases. If the liver failure is due to encephalopathy, then monitoring of intracranial pressure also becomes necessary.

Countering Acetaminophen Toxicity
In case the person is showing liver failure signs due to overdose of acetaminophen, then to counter this toxicity, intravenous injections of N-acetylcysteine are given. Although N-acetylcysteine can also be taken orally, as a part of emergency treatment protocol, it is given intravenously instead as orally, it is not so well absorbed.

Liver Transplant
Liver transplantation is one of the end stage liver failure treatment options. In this case, a diseased or fatty liver is replaced by a healthy liver allograft. Normally, the original liver is removed, or at least a portion of the liver is removed and is replaced by a healthy liver of the same anatomical size and area. However, not only is this treatment an extremely expensive option but is also an option that has a very unpredictable course of prognosis. There are a lot of factors that need to be considered while determining whether the patient is an ideal candidate for a liver transplant, as there are high chances of organ rejection.

Thus, this was all about the various treatment options which are a part of liver failure treatment. In cases of some patients who are suffering from hepatorenal syndrome, liver dialysis has proven to be a promising treatment option. It acts in a manner similar to hemodialysis, thus, ridding the body of toxins that can cause various other problems in the body. However, in the end, treatment for liver failure always needs to be administered on a priority basis, as abnormal functioning of the liver can lead to many systemic complications, which if not dealt with at the right time, can prove to be fatal.