Fulminant Hepatic Failure

Abstract

A prevailing view of acute hepatic failure is that almost any form of treatment ought to be worth a trial in a disease state with so poor a prognosis. The central theme of treatment is support for the liver pending its regeneration. Two procedures with merit are plasmapheresis with plasma exchange and the use of hyperimmune plasma rich in Australia antibody. The much-publicized “total body washout” is extremely dangerous, inflicting serious additional hazards on a critically ill patient.