Artificial liver support system in China: a review over the last 30 years

Severe viral hepatitis with high mortality is the most common cause of liver failure in China. Treatment of severe viral hepatitis by hemoperfusion was initially adopted in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Following 10 years of development in China, a plasma exchange (PE)-centered artificial liver support system (ALSS), principally dependent on PE technology was developed. Based on the condition and symptoms of each patient, PE was given alone, or combined with hemodialysis, hemofiltration, hemodiafiltration, hemoperfusion, or plasma perfusion. In the late 1990s, training courses for ALSS were developed, and ALSS began to be carried out across China. Guidelines for artificial liver therapy were formulated and published by the Artificial Liver and Liver Failure Group of the Chinese Society of Infection. In recent years, new methods have been attempted, including small pore-size plasma separators, a molecular adsorbent-based recirculating system (MARS), and a continuous albumin purification system (CAPS). According to a retrospective analysis published in 2004, ALSS therapy significantly (P < 0.001) improved the survival rate of patients with severe hepatitis compared with patients who received only medicines (43.4%, 157/362 vs. 15.4%, 55/358 in chronic patients and 78.9%, 30/38 vs. 11.9%, 5/42 in acute and subacute patients). Furthermore, ALSS has also proved valuable as a bridge to liver transplantation in the treatment of patients with end-stage severe hepatitis in China. More recently, ALSS has been used in the treatment of drug-induced liver failure, acute fatty liver during pregnancy, and other difficult-to-treat disorders in China.