The clinical effect of hybrid bioartificial iiver on acute hepatic failure with gravis hepatitis

Objective To observe the clinical effects of hybrid bioartificial liver (HBL) consisting of plas-ma exchange and porcine hepatocyte - based bioartificial liver on acute and sub - acute liver failure. Methods 5 patients with severe liver failure including 3 patients with acute liver failure and 2 patients with sub - acute were observed.All of them were under Standard therapeutic procedure.The clinical signs and symptoms, total bilirubin (TBIL), serum ammonia, endotoxin and prothrombin activity (PTA), choline esterase (CHE) were recorded or measured before, during and after treatment. Results After HBL treatment, 4 patients im-proved significantly in fatigue and abdominal distension, 3 patients with hepatic coma improved in level of en-cephalopathy. All patients PTA and CHE were increased significantly (P0.01), serum TBIL and endotoxin were decreased (P0.01 and P0.05 respectively) .2 patients were bridged for spontaneous recovery and l patient bridged for liver transplantation successfully, another 2 patients died on the 8th and 21st day respec-tively . There are not severe complications such as hemorrhage, allergic reaction found during and after treatment . Conclusion HBL appeared to be a safe and beneficial treatment for patients with acute or subacute liver failure, It may improve the clinical signs and symptoms, liver functions, PTA and endotoxin, and can be suc-cessfully used as a bridge to recovery and transplantation.