Successful High-Volume Plasmapheresis in Acute Liver Failure

Abstract

Acute liver failure carries a high mortality. At present, liver transplant is the definitive treatment along with standard medical support. In the absence of or as a bridge to liver transplant, several liver assist therapies have been derived. Some of the therapies have shown short-term mortality benefits and transplant-free survival over standard medical treatment alone. High volume plasmapheresis (HVP) is one of such therapies and is readily available in hospitals. We discuss the case of a 28-year-old female who presented with acute liver failure, did not qualify for the liver transplant and successfully underwent HVP. Various regimens of plasmapheresis have been described in the literature of which we used the HVP for pre-determined three days. Our case emphasizes the importance of early initiation of HVP in an acute liver failure patient who did not qualify for liver transplant, and adds to the existing evidence of the utility of this particular type of plasmapheresis over other regimens.