[Hepatic insufficiency - clinical picture]

Hepatic insufficiency results from extreme derangement of liver cell function. Pathophysiology and clinical picture of this syndrome are briefly discussed; the latter correlate rather poorly with laboratory data - the poorest correlation existing between clinical picture and bioptic findings. Acute hepatic insufficiency may occur in the course of every pathological process involving the liver, it does however arise most often in severe viral hepatitis with widespread disintegration of liver cells and in toxic liver damage. Chronic hepatic insufficiency is typical for the final stages of cirrhosis of the liver. Measurement of coagulation factors has proved to be the best prognostic parameter in hepatic failure.