Sorbent-based artificial liver devices: principles of operation, chemical effects and clinical results

Devices for support of patients with liver failure are of two types: bioartificial livers and artificial livers. Bioartificial livers include hepatocytes in bioreactors to provide both excretory and synthetic liver functions. Artificial livers use nonliving components to remove toxins of liver failure, supply nutrients and macromolecules. Current artificial liver devices use columns or suspensions of sorbents (including adsorbents and absorbents) to selectively remove toxins and regenerate dialysate, albumin-containing dialysate, plasma filtrate or plasma. This article reviews three artificial liver devices. Liver Dialysis uses a suspension of charcoal and cation exchangers to regenerate dialysate. MARS uses charcoal and an anion exchanger to regenerate dialysate with albumin. Prometheus uses neutral and anion exchange resins to regenerate a plasma filtrate containing albumin and small globulins. We review the operating principles, chemical effects, clinical effects and complications of use of each type of artificial liver. These devices clearly improve the clinical condition of patients with acute or acute-on-chronic liver failure. Further randomized outcome studies are necessary to prove clinical outcome benefit of the artificial liver support devices, and define what types of patients appear most amenable to therapy.