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Acute Liver Failure


Published: February 5th, 2008

If you have experienced a liver transplant due to acute liver failure, we can connect you with others who have shared the same life changing experience. Please contact Jodi Takahashi via email at jodi@dxrsystems.com or the American Liver Foundation at 800.292.9099.

Jodi's Story: (That's Jodi in the photo with the football)

In January 2007, I was the healthiest I had ever been. I had recently lost weight and had taken up jogging. In fact, I was a kickboxing instructor and a Brown Belt in Karate. By February, I became jaundiced although I didn’t feel sick. My vists to the doctors went undiagnosed. I continued living my life as I always had. Slowly I did begin to feel sick and run-down. My appetite waned and I got more and more yellow, tired and unwilling to face the gravity of my situation. Still, the doctors were unable to determine the cause of my jaundice though I had already undergone a battery of tests.

By March 19th, responding poorly to the continued failure of my liver, current lack of nutrition and being encephalopathic, I went to the hospital thinking I had a heart attack. The downhill slide continued and after a couple of days in the local hospital, I lost consciousness completely. I am told that by the time I was unconscious, the doctors realized that there was no heart attack and that the nature of my liver failure was beyond their level of expertise. They made calls to a local center and were able to secure a bed for me in the transplant ICU. Within hours of the confirmation I was transported there by critical care ambulance and stabilized. I had been put into a coma to slow the damage my failing liver was causing the rest of my body. In less than two days I was successfully transplanted and several days after that, I came to with a ventilator tube down my throat, central lines, an “a-line” (arterial catheter in the wrist), more miscellaneous tubes and wires than I could count and absolutely no recollection of how I had gotten into this state.

It took me a couple of days to really come around during which time, my ventilator tube, a-lines, central lines and several of my IVs were removed and I encountered several vivid prednisone-induced hallucinations. Luckily, my family was there to help me through my time in the hospital, including my stay in transplant recovery. My husband never left my side once I got out of ICU. My return home was both a very joyous and incredibly scary time; I was going home, to my comfortable place, to my own bed, yet I was leaving the security of being monitored around the clock by medical professionals to manage my own care.

As I continued to recover, I found that there were no support groups for people with acute liver failure. I was fortunate enough to meet another woman who had a transplant within a week of mine, and had acute liver failure as well. But try as I might, no one seemed to be able to point me in the right direction for help with what my family and I had been through. Eventually, I found the American Liver Foundation and told them my story. With the help of Linden Young, we began towards forming a acute liver failure support circle, to help those who face the same challenges I have.

Acute liver failure and transplant is like waking up from a nightmare; very frightening and unnerving. With the help of ALF and the acute liver failure support circle, I am hoping that no one who faces sudden organ failure and transplant will have to do so without the support of others who have been through the same experience.

Jodi Takahashi

Acetaminophen and Alcohol Warnings

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Acetaminophen and Alcohol Warnings

THE LIVER

The liver is one of the body’s largest organs and performs hundreds of functions every day to keep you alive. It removes harmful substances from the blood, makes bile to help digest fat, and stores energy. Acute liver failure is the rare, but serious condition that occurs when a large number of hepatic (liver) cells stop functioning within a short period of time, and the liver is no longer able to perform these critical functions. The condition has been known to occur in both adults and children.

Symptoms

The early symptoms of acute liver failure are similar to symptoms of hepatitis and can make early detection difficult. Some of the earliest symptoms might include fatigue, nausea, jaundice (yellowing of the eyes and skin) and vomiting. As the condition advances, many patients will become confused or sleepy due to a condition called encephalopathy. Acute liver failure can advance very quickly (typically within 26 weeks of the initial illness or trigger), and patients should be seen immediately at a hospital or medical center with experience in treating acute liver failure to determine the cause and potential treatments and options. There are treatment options available in certain cases; however transplantation may be necessary in order to save the patient’s life. All options should be discussed with your physician and treatment options should be evaluated on an individual basis.

Causes of Acute Liver Failure:

The most common cause of acute liver failure in the United States is acetaminophen poisoning (a main ingredient in over-the-counter pain relievers). Other causes can include reactions to prescription, over-the-counter, and illegal drugs as well as viruses, such as viral hepatitis. There are still many cases in which causes cannot be identified.

According to the Acute Liver Failure Study Group (http://acsresearch.swmed.edu/ALF/home.html), the following information should be shared with your doctor if you or a loved one is diagnosed with acute liver failure:

  • When the patient first got sick
  • Family history of liver disease
  • The names of any over-the-counter drugs taken in the last six months
  • Prescription drugs taken within the last six months
  • Events or circumstances that may have exposed the patient sick individuals
  • Recent travel history
  • Information about any wild mushrooms or seafood eaten
  • If there is a history of hepatitis (viral or not)
  • Drug or alcohol use
  • Exposure to pets or other animals
Contact a center in Northern California that specializes in the study and treatment of acute liver failure:

UCSF:

Tim Davern, MD timothy.davern@ucsf.edu (415) 353-2318

Philip Rosenthal, MD (Pediatric) prosenth@peds.ucsf.edu (415) 476-5892

UC Davis

Lorenzo Rossaro, MD lrossaro@ucdavis.edu (916) 734-8693


Page updated: July 29th, 2008