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Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure

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Critical Care for Potential Liver Transplant Candidates

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Abstract

Acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) describes an increasingly recognized definition of a syndrome that frequently develops in patients with acute decompensation of chronic liver disease and is associated with a high mortality rate. Based on the results of the prospective CANONIC study, the first evidence-based diagnostic criteria and grading of ACLF in patients with cirrhosis have been proposed. As a next step, prognostic scores for ACLF (CLIF-C-ACLF score) and acute decompensation (CLIF-C AD score) have been developed. Even though the mechanisms leading to organ failure are not fully understood, systemic inflammation seems to play a crucial role in the development of ACLF. The “predisposition, injury, response, and organ” (PIRO) concept may be used to describe the underlying pathophysiological aspects of ACLF.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Transplant Medicine, University Hospital of Münster, Münster, Germany

    Miriam Maschmeier, Anna Hüsing-Kabar & Hartmut H. Schmidt

Authors
  1. Miriam Maschmeier
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  2. Anna Hüsing-Kabar
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  3. Hartmut H. Schmidt
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Miriam Maschmeier .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA

    Dmitri Bezinover

  2. General, Visceral and Transplant Surgery, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany

    Fuat Saner

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Maschmeier, M., Hüsing-Kabar, A., Schmidt, H.H. (2019). Acute-On-Chronic Liver Failure. In: Bezinover, D., Saner, F. (eds) Critical Care for Potential Liver Transplant Candidates. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92934-7_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92934-7_11

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-92933-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-92934-7

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