Liver transplantation for drug-induced acute liver failure

To summarize the different clinical features of drug-induced acute liver failure, the diagnostic work-up, conservative management and the prognostic scores currently used to list patients for liver transplantation.

The current review is based on an analysis of the current literature and the caseload experience of the Authors on this topic.

Drug-induced liver injury is the leading cause of acute liver failure in the adult population in Western countries, with a transplant-free survival rate of less than 50%. Main subtypes include paracetamol and idiosyncratic drug-induced injury, which differ in epidemiology, clinical course, prognosis and conservative management. In cases of a high likelihood of death, urgent hepatic transplantation is indicated, but the decision whether and when to put a patient with drug-induced acute liver failure on the list for urgent liver transplant is extremely difficult and requires constant interdisciplinary exchange and continuous updating of the clinical picture.

Intensive management should be done in a clinical tertiary referral center which has a specialized team of hepatologists and a liver transplant center.