The Acute liver Failure Study Group cute liver failure is an uncommon but serious and distinctive clinical syndrome marked by sudden A onset of signs of hepatic failure in patients without preexisting liver disease. Acute liver failure is estimated to cause 2,000 deaths yearly and to account for at least 5% of liver transplantations in the United States. Traditionally, the most common causes of acute liver failure were believed to be hepatitis A and B, mushroom poisoning, and medication-induced liver injury. Recent information, however, indicates that hepatitis A and B are now relatively uncommon causes of acute liver failure and that the majority of cases are either drug induced or idiopathic. Liver transplantation can be successful in patients with acute liver failure, but criteria for transplantation and predictors of good outcome are not well defined. Importantly, there are no effective medical therapies short of liver transplantation for this severe and frequently fatal syndrome. Clearly, there are many unresolved issues in acute liver failure, and better information is needed on its causes, clinical management, and outcome.
To address these issues, Dr. William Lee and coworkers at the University of Texas Southwestern created the Acute Liver Failure Study Group (ALFSG). Funded In 1997 as a small grant (R03) from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), the ALFSG initially consisted of a consortium of 14 U.S. academic centers, each of which collected structured information on all cases of acute liver failure seen at their institutions. The group initially assembled retrospective data on cases seen between 1994 and 1996 and provided valuable information on the etiology and outcome of acute liver failure in the United States (Liver Transpl Surg