Characteristics, management and outcomes of patients with acute liver failure admitted to Australasian intensive care units

Abstract

Objective: Acute liver failure (ALF) leads to severe illness and usually requires admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Despite its importance, little is known about patients with ALF in Australia and New Zealand. Design: Binational observational study to evaluate the aetiology, baseline characteristics, patterns of illness, management, and outcomes for patients with ALF admitted to Australian and New Zealand ICUs. Setting: All six Australian and New Zealand ICUs in liver transplant centres submitted de-identified data for ten or more consecutive patients with ALF. Data were obtained from the clinical record and included baseline characteristics, aetiology, mode of presentation, illnes..