A Case of Type I Hepatorenal Syndrome Treated with Vasopressin

Purpose: Hepatorenal syndrome (HRS) is a grave complication of end-stage liver disease and is associated with a very high mortality. This case report describes a 42-year-old female with advanced alcoholinduced cirrhosis who developed HRS that was initially treated with midodrine and octreotide but renal function continued to deteriorate. Vasopressin therapy was added and HRS was successfully reversed. There is limited data available on the use of vasopressin for HRS and this case supports its use in treatment of HRS, particularly in countries where the more widely studied terlipressin is unavailable. This case also demonstrates that a patient failing one medical therapy for HRS may respond to an alternative or adjunctive therapy; therefore this should be attempted to increase the patient's chance of survival.