Successful conservative management of acute hepatic failure following exertional heatstroke

Acute hepatic failure is a rare complication of exertional heatstroke with poor prognosis. We herein report a 24-year-old man presenting with acute hepatic failure and rhabdomyolysis following exertional heatstroke during hard physical work on a construction site. Acute hepatic failure occurred after 2 days and led to massive impairment of coagulation parameters. On day 3 after heatstroke the patient fulfilled standard criteria for emergency liver transplantation (i.e. the 'London criteria' and the 'Clichy criteria') but was not transplanted. Nevertheless liver function improved spontaneously thereafter and the patient recovered completely within 12 days. In contrast, the outcome of emergency liver transplantation was dismal in three cases of exertional heatstroke in the literature. Thus conservative management appears to be justified in heatstroke-associated liver failure even in the presence of accepted criteria for emergency liver transplantation.