What is Liver failure?
A number of liver diseases may lead to hepato-cellular failure. This is the name given to the clinical syndrome in which there is damage to the hepatocytes such that their function is significantly impaired. Because of the large size of the organ hepatocytes have much capacity to repair and regenerate. When pathological damage to the liver exceeds the hepatocytes ability to repair and regenerate, liver failure ensues.
Liver failure may occur very quickly, if the liver suffers a severe and sudden insult. This is known as acute hepato-cellular failure occurring within days or weeks of disease onset and includes fulminant hepatic failure, when brain function is affected as part of the clinical syndrome (hepatic encephalopathy). The commonest causes of acute liver failure are viral hepatitis and toxic effect of drugs (e.g. paracetamol overdose).
In other liver diseases there is a slow and progressive deterioration of liver function. This is known as chronic hepato-cellular failure and can take a number of years to develop e.g. cirrhosis.
