5 Common Causes of Acute Liver Failure | Symptoms and Risk Factors

06 May 5 Common Causes of Acute Liver Failure | Symptoms and Risk Factors

The liver is among those organs that can take a lot of damage before it stops working. 

But once it reaches the level that it’s unable to carry on, it can lead to severe illnesses, sometimes resulting in some signs of death from liver failure. 

Notably, liver functions are often underrated. For your information, the Liver helps eliminate toxins, assists with better processing of food, and stores energy as well. 

However, when it stops working properly, it starts to take the form of liver failure. 

Sadly, liver failure can be death-dealing. 

Liver disease is categorized as:

• Chronic Liver Failure
• Acute Liver Failure

Chronic liver failure is the deterioration of liver function over time, and many are aware of its causes. 

However, when it comes to later one, not many are aware of what is acute liver failure. 

On that note, let’s begin to know all about it. This blog answers what acute liver failure is, what causes acute liver failure, its risk factors, treatments, and prevention. 

What is Acute Liver Failure?

Acute Liver Failure (ALF) is a rare condition in which there’s a rapid loss of liver function. 

It can get life-threatening within days and weeks and usually happens to people with no pre-existing liver diseases.

Also known as fulminant hepatic failure, ALF induces excessive bleeding and increasing pressure in the brain.

Considering the severity, acute liver failure treatments often require hospitalization followed by liver transplantation. 

However, what causes sudden liver failure could vary from an overdose of certain medications to a pre-existing liver condition. 

What Causes Acute Liver Failure? [5 Most Common Reasons]

Causes of acute liver failure often include damage to healthy liver tissues. 

This occurs because of the overdose of drugs like acetaminophen and when other diseases develop toxic substances that damage the liver tissues.

The most common cause of acute liver failure:

1. Overdose of Acetaminophen
2. Use of prescribed medications
3. Viral Hepatitis
4. Intake of poisonous mushrooms
5. Other health conditions

Here’s how these causes may influence your chances of getting acute liver failure.

#1. Acetaminophen Overdose

It is currently among the prominent reasons behind what causes acute liver failure. 

Acetaminophen is a pain killer that when taken as per recommendation is absolutely safe. 

However, overdoing acetaminophen is highly dangerous and can lead to liver failure. More precisely, acute liver failure. 

As per evidence, acetaminophen can lead to blindness and death as well as acute liver failure, which can be only treated with an emergent liver transplant. 

#2. Prescription Medications

Around 50% of the acute liver failure cases in the US are drug-induced acute liver failures. 

Various medications, such as antibiotics, anticonvulsants, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory can result in ALF.

Adding to it, over-the-counter medications, weight loss pills, dietary supplements, and other prescribed medications are also on the list of what can cause sudden liver failure. 

Not to mention, drug-induced acute liver failure can be dose-dependent. 

Hence, when undergoing the treatment, it’s important to mention the details of the quantity used and the duration of the treatment. 

 #3. Viral Hepatitis 

In some cases, Hepatitis A, B, and E, along with autoimmune hepatitis, can be one of the causes of acute liver failure. 

Around 1.5 million people worldwide get infected with Hepatitis A every year.

Out of this population, less than 1% of patients develop acute liver failure.

In the cases of hepatitis E as well, the mortality rate is less than 1%. However, it might cause severe outcomes for elderly people with pre-existing liver diseases and pregnant women. 

Moving on, Hepatitis B is among the top causes of acute liver failure in Asia and Europe. 

Moreover, while less than 1% of people infected with hepatitis B will get ALF, the mortality rate of hepatitis B induced ALF is more.

#4. Poisonous Mushrooms

Consumption of poisonous mushrooms also encourages toxins and damages the liver severely.

As mentioned in a study, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839837/ Although it is a rare sight, ingestion of Amanita phalloide mushroom causes hepatotoxicity.

Patients with a history of mushroom ingestion have shown symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and gastrointestinal issues.

It usually starts within 6-12 hours and a subset of patients get to witness ALF. 

Hence, the consumption of poisonous mushrooms fits the acute liver failure criteria.

Moreover, because there’s no blood test available to identify mushroom ingestion, it needs to be clinically diagnosed. 

#5. Other Causes

Some of the other most common causes of acute liver failure include:

• Wilson’s disease 
• Pregnancy specific liver diseases
• Hemolysis, Elevated Liver Enzymes, and Low Platelet count (HELLP) syndrome
• Cancer
• Herbal Medications
• Vascular diseases like Budd-Chiari syndrome

There are actually numerous reasons behind what causes acute liver failure. 

Depending upon the causes, you can identify the signs and symptoms of acute liver failure and act immediately. 

What are the Symptoms of Acute Liver Failure?

Initially, the symptoms of acute liver failure may seem like any other viral disease.

However, it accelerates pretty quickly and unexpectedly. Here’s what does acute liver failure feel like…

Some of the signs and acute liver failure symptoms are:

• Encephalopathy: It affects the central nervous system, and the brain ceases to work the way it should. One can experience altered behavior with anxiety, lack of attention, disorientation, lethargy, and incoherent behavior. 
• Renal Manifestations: Acute renal failure forms the crucial and frequent symptoms of ALF. It is also common among those dealing with chronic liver failure. 

Moreover, while the acute liver failure symptoms may not grab your attention at first, don’t let these mild symptoms fool you. 

Because the liver is the one organ that purifies your body and processes the food, any damage to it can give rise to additional issues as well.

Acute liver failure gets even tenser and can lead to a couple of complications. 

So…

What Happens When You Have Acute Liver Failure?

Acute liver failure can give rise to some health complications. Some of the complications are:

• Bacterial infections
• Fungal infections
• Jaundice
• Abnormal bleeding
• Abdominal Pain
• Swelling of the brain
• Confusion
• A decline in blood sugar level

In fact, acute liver failure is itself fatal, and complications like abnormal bleeding increase the risk. 

Furthermore, while ALF usually happens to those with no pre-existing liver diseases, there are certain risk factors for this disease. 

Risk Factors of Acute Liver Failure (ALF)

Apart from what can cause acute liver failure, it’s equally important to have enough focus on what are its risk factors. 

To elaborate, risk factors include certain conditions or scenarios that can induce or accelerate the damage. 

In the case of acute liver failure as well, there are certain factors that can worsen the scenario. 

Some of the risk factors of acute liver failure are:

• High consumption of acetaminophen
• Diseases, such as Wilson’s disease and Hepatitis
• Herpes simplex virus also has the possibility to cause acute liver failure.
• Adding to it, a study, also analyzed the risk factor of acute liver failure among inpatients with anti-TB Drug-Induced Liver Injury (DILI). This study concluded that while half of the cases of DILI occur within the first month, 60% of the acute liver failure cases occur within 2 months. 

Now, no matter what causes acute liver failure, if someone with ALF is also dealing with these diseases, it increases the chances of its severity. 

Moreover, acute liver failure is not often heard about. Hence, people may mistake it for chronic liver failure. 

However, acute liver failure is completely different from chronic one. And what makes it different is the duration of its occurrence. 

While chronic liver failure develops over time, acute liver failure is a rapid occurrence. 

Does Liver Failure Happen Suddenly?

It won’t be right to say that acute liver failure happens suddenly. 

However, it is also true that it develops quite rapidly as compared to other liver failures and diseases. 

To clarify, on the basis of the interval of the development of jaundice and onset encephalopathy, O’Grady and colleagues divided it into 3 categories:

• Sub-acute liver failure: Onset of encephalopathy after 5 weeks but before 12 weeks of jaundice.
• Acute liver failure: Onset of encephalopathy after 8-28 days of jaundice.
• Hyper-acute liver failure: Onset of encephalopathy within 5 days of developing jaundice.

Notably, what makes it even more dangerous is, that it can deteriorate the functioning of the liver in just days even for those with no prior liver disease.

So, whether or not you have liver disease, you are at the same risk of acute liver disease.

And even though the liver is the second largest organ in your body, liver failure can shut down the liver functions completely. 

As much as it sounds horrifying, the last days of liver failure are even worse. 

What are the Last Days of Liver Failure Like?

The liver is among the vital organs of your body. And even though it can handle a lot of damage for quite a long and still continue to work, a liver failure can take a toll on your body completely. 

When there is liver failure, your body does not work the way it should. 

In the same fashion, while the beginning of the liver failure appears like any other disease, it starts to get ugly at the end stage. 

At the end stage, there is an increased risk of:

• Bleeding: It happens because the liver stops producing the proteins that help with blood clotting. Hence, there is an increased risk of bruising, internal bleeding, and enlarged veins in the lower part of the esophagus.  

• The buildup of fluid in the abdomen: Fluid buildup in the abdomen can give rise to shortness of breath. It increases the pressure on the diaphragm and the patient is unable to breathe properly. 

• Reduced brain function: Another complication at the end stage of liver failure is restricted brain function. It happens because of the build of toxins in the blood. This leads to confusion, irritability, personality changes, and even memory issues. Notably, this stage can further the take individual into an unresponsive state and coma. 

These severe end-stage liver failure scenarios are accompanied by muscle cramps, depression, trouble sleeping, and loss of appetite. 

Moving on, while this clearly states how dangerous acute liver failure can be, one question that many of you want to ask would be is there any treatment?

The next section of the blog answers it well for you.

Can You Recover from Acute Liver Failure?

It completely depends on the cause of acute liver failure.

If liver failure is caused by overdoes of acetaminophen, certain medicines can counter its effects and reduce liver damage. 

In the same manner, if the failure is because of hereditary copper-overloaded diseases, it can be treated by removing the copper. 

Likewise, in case of bacterial infections leading to ALF, the condition can be improved with the use of anti-bacterial medicines. 

Not to mention, whether or not you can recover from liver failure also depends on the risk factors. 

For instance, if you have low blood sugar or already have hepatitis, it worsens the condition. 

However, if you visit the health care provider on time and get it diagnosed, you can certainly recover from it.

When Should You Visit the Doctor?  

The worst thing about acute liver failure is it develops quickly. 

So, if you see a sudden yellowness in your eyes and skin, changes in your mental state, personality, and behavior, or pain in the upper abdominal area, seek immediate help. 

Procedures and tests involved to diagnose acute liver failure are:

• Blood test to determine how well your liver is working. 
• Image tests like ultrasound and CT scan can also be recommended. Such tests can help identify the causes of severe liver failure and treat it accordingly. 
• Liver Biopsy is yet another way to get it diagnosed. Your doctor may recommend you remove a liver tissue and get it tested. However, ALF patients often fear bleeding hence, they are recommended transjugular liver biopsy at times.
• Patients are also examined to look for the signs of mental confusion.

After getting diagnosed, the healthcare provider will then recommend you the treatments available. 

So what are the available treatments for acute liver failure?

Acute Liver Failure Treatments

The treatment of acute liver failure depends on the cause, type, and severity of the condition. 

While in certain cases medicines are enough, there are situations that require a liver transplant. 

#1. Medications

In cases where acute liver failure is because of mushroom poisoning or overdose of certain medicines, drugs to reverse poisoning can work. 

Also in cases of excess fluid in the brain, medications can help reduce the fluid buildup and control the situation. 

#2. Regular Supportive Care

If you don’t know, the liver has the ability to reform itself into a healthy organ all by itself. 

Hence, in case of viral infections leading to acute liver failure, sometimes patients get well on their own. All they need is regular supervision, a good diet, and treatment for the symptoms. 

 #3. Liver Transplant

Majority of the acute liver failure cases require a liver transplant. 

In liver transplant treatment, the doctor removes the damaged liver with surgery and replaces it with a healthy liver. 

Moreover, no matter what causes acute liver failure, one can reduce its severity if diagnosed at the right time. Depending upon the causes, in some cases, it can be certainly reversed. 

But can you prevent acute liver failure?

Yes, to an extent. 

Acute Liver Failure: Prevention Tips

Some of the tips to prevent acute liver failure are:

#1. Take Medicines As Prescribed

Since overdose of acetaminophen is among the primary reasons that cause liver failure, it’s recommended to take such medicines according to instructions only. 

#2. Consult Your Doctor before Taking Herbal Medicines

People often synonymize the term herbal as safe. However, that’s not always the case. Some herbal medicines and over-the-counter medicines can result in acute liver failure. So, it’s better to consult your doctor before taking any. 

#3. Restrict Your Alcohol Consumption

Alcohol consumption has a direct effect on your liver. Hence, acute liver failure from alcohol comes with no surprise at all. Try to quit drinking or restrict it to moderate consumption. 

RELATED: How does alcohol affect your liver?

#4. Avoid Eating Wild Mushrooms

Mushroom poisoning is among what causes acute liver failure. Hence, avoiding its consumption can help prevent it in the first place. 

#5. Get Vaccinated

As already mentioned, Hepatitis A, B, and E can result in acute liver failure. Hence, getting vaccinated can help reduce the chances of its occurrence. Talk to your doctor and get yourself vaccinated. 

#6. Lifestyle Changes 

Apart from all the other preventive measures, certain lifestyle changes can also be of great help in preventing acute liver failure. 

These include:

• Maintaining a healthy weight
• Protecting your skin when using insecticides
• Avoid getting in direct contact with people’s body fluid
• Always ask for fresh needles when getting injected
• Make sure there’s ventilation in your room

Take all these steps and there are good chances you can prevent acute liver failure. 

Acute liver failure can lead to the loss of liver and in some cases life. This makes it a condition of concern. 

Nonetheless, timely diagnosis and proper treatment can certainly save a life. 

Final Words

People are often focused on their heart health, cholesterol levels, and bone health. But they often overlook how good their liver functioning is. 

This often leads to severe liver diseases like jaundice, hepatitis, and yes liver failure as well. 

Acute liver failure, although not very common, certainly is life-threatening. 

It develops with weeks and leaves the patients with little to no time to recover. 

However, identifying the symptoms of acute liver failure and taking immediate steps can help get the treatment on time. 

If this blog helps you understand ALF and what are the causes of acute liver failure, along with its treatment, do share your views with us. 

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: 

Causes of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease