Acute liver failure

Overview Acute liver failure is a syndrome of acute liver dysfunction without underlying chronic liver disease. ALF is an uncommon condition associated with a high mortality. It is due to acute liver dysfunction in the absence of underlying chronic liver disease. ALF is characterised by coagulopathy (derangement in clotting) of hepatic origin and altered levels of consciousness due to hepatic encephalopathy (HE). The cause of ALF is numerous, but drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is the most common reason in Europe. This may be divided into paracetamol or non-paracetamol DILI. The true burden of ALF is difficult to quantify, but it