Research progress on the role of probiotics in acute liver failure

[摘要] Acute liver failure (ALF) is a relativelyrare disease with a high fatality rate. Asearly as 1970, ALF was first describedas fulminant liver failure, but this termhas now been abandoned.[1] ALF is acomplex disease involving multiple organfunctions. As the course of the diseaseprogresses, cerebral edema, renal failure,respiratory failure, hemodynamic disorders,and coagulation disorders may occur.The main manifestations of ALF areprolongation of prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR),decreased mental function, peripheralvasodilatation, systemic inflammatoryresponse syndrome, and eventually multipleorgan failure. In different parts of theworld, the causes of ALF are different. Indeveloped countries, paracetamol toxicity,ischemia, drug-induced liver injury, hepatitisB virus, and autoimmunity are the five mostcommon causes of ALF. In contrast, viralhepatitis A, B, and E are the main causesof ALF in developing countries. Whensevere liver dysfunction occurs, in additionto supportive treatment and care for relatedcomplications, liver transplantation is stillthe ultimate treatment for ALF. However,due to the limitations of transplantationconditions, less than 10% of liver transplantpatients receive transplantation treatmentbecause of ALF.